Punxsutawney, Pa. ? Save the security alerts for the Super Bowl. Punxsutawney Phil made his annual appearance before a record crowd with nary an armed guard or tank in sight.

As he has done 115 times before, the popular prognosticating groundhog emerged from his stump at dawn Saturday, squinting before banks of television cameras, to deliver his famous weather forecast. This Groundhog Day, before an adoring crowd of 40,000, Phil saw his shadow and let the world know there would be six more weeks of winter.

Punxsutawney Phil is held by handler Bill Deeley after emerging from his Gobbler's Knob burrow before a record crowd of some 40,000 in Punxsutawney, Pa. Phil saw his shadow at sunrise Saturday and predicted six more weeks of winter weather.

But it didn’t mean anyone at Gobbler’s Knob forgot the country is at war. This year’s event was awash in red, white and blue, featuring patriotic music and star-spangled rhetoric. Spectators said even a seemingly silly American tradition that celebrates a furry forecasting rodent makes a statement about democracy.

“Having fun for no good reason is about America,” State Rep. Sam Smith said.

“I’m here to show my support for our country,” said Pete Bauer, who drove five hours from Valley Stream, N.Y., for the sixth year to welcome Phil. This time he carted a large American flag with him and wedged it in a tree.

Susan Fowler of New Hope carried a sign that read “Phil Stands for Freedom.” Fowler said she made the sign after hearing reports there would be more security this year.

“Phil’s an American hero,” she said.

State police were quick to correct early reports that the National Guard was called in due to fear of a terrorist attack.

“The thought in our mind was the number of people attending, not because we were afraid because of 9-11,” said Trooper Jamie LaVier, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania State Police.

He said that because the holiday fell on a weekend this year and had the added significance of the landmark date 02-02-02, officials added a few more state troopers in anticipation of larger-than-normal crowds and to enforce the event’s alcohol-free policy. LaVier said officers checked bags and backpacks for the first time this year, but in search of booze not bombs.

“Nobody’s out for the groundhog,” LaVier said.

Even so, Phil’s speechwriters members of the Ground Hog Club’s Inner Circle, the top-hatted men tasked with keeping the tradition alive couldn’t miss a golden opportunity to take the Taliban to task.

“Thank God I live in the land of the free and the brave, I live in a burrow and not in a cave,” said Paul Johnston, as he read the official proclamation.

“U-S-A, U-S-A,” the crowd chanted, roaring its support.

“I’ve been noddin’, I’ve been living better than bin Laden,” Johnston continued.

Others freely admit they are hard-core members of the cult of Phil.

“He’s addicting; you just got to come,” said Bud Newport, of Waynesburg, Ohio, who marked his eighth year here in subfreezing weather wrapped head to toe in a Day-Glo hunting outfit and perched on a step ladder.

As for Phil, he returned to his burrow without making one highly anticipated prediction: Sunday’s Super Bowl winner.

“He showed total indifference” toward the Super Bowl, said Groundhog Club president Bill Cooper.