February 2nd of each year officially marks the day that a groundhog emerges from his burrow to let us know whether it will be an early spring or if we have to endure six more weeks of winter. This holiday, known as Groundhog Day, is steeped in tradition and history. But what if Punxatawny Phil, the most famous of season-predicting groundhogs, along with some of his Groundhog Day buddies around the country, spent the morning sitting around their own personal mini kegerators before emerging from their holes? Would a kegerator-and-beer-laden groundhog be any less accurate in predicting the end of winter?

Who knows? We’ll never know the answer to that, because our trusty little groundhog friends are obviously not going to be sitting around a mini beer dispenser in their dirt-filled burrows in the ground before showing their cute little furry faces above ground on February 2nd. But, it might be a funny sight if they did.

Folklore tells us that the groundhog is very powerful in predicting the coming spring. According to the story, if the groundhog sees its shadow when he emerges from his burrow, there will be six more weeks of winter. If not, we will enjoy an early spring. Now, we’re sure the weather and the fact that it may be sunny or cloudy on that day has nothing to do with the outcome of the groundhog’s little outing, right? According to proponents of Groundhog Day, the groundhog is right about 75 – 90% of the time. Others have put the little guy’s prediction accuracy rate closer to 40% or less.

So, let’s imagine Punxatawney Phil and his groundhog friends spending the morning, or even the previous night, sitting around their mini kegerator, using their furry little paws to flip the kegerator tap so that they can enjoy some cold, fresh beer before making the journey out into the bright light above. What do you think would happen?

For one, there would probably be plenty of groundhog-style jokes around the mini keg about how ridiculous humans were for relying on them to predict the coming spring. They’d probably spend the morning laughing as they emptied the contents of their mini kegerator, deciding whether they should mess with the heads of the thousands that came to watch them just to see whether they came out of their burrow or retreated back inside once they saw their shadow.

Then of course, there would be the actual outing itself. After a kegerator induced haze set in, the groundhog might leave his burrow, stumble around a little, and fall down before he could decide whether or not to truly emerge from his hole or to retreat back inside because he saw his shadow. That might in and of itself prove to be worth the price of admission!

Well, we doubt that there will be mini kegerators lowered into groundhog burrows around the country anytime soon or that the furry critters will figure out how to operate a kegerator tap, but never fear – there is a still a place for kegerators on Groundhog’s Day. After all, thousands of people around the country gather in various towns to hold morning festivals and celebrations to watch the groundhog emerge from his burrow. There are Groundhog Lodges and other groups that get together and organize big social outings, filled with food, beer and entertainment. And where there is beer, there is certainly room for a kegerator or two to serve the beer fresh from the tap.

So, when Groundhog Day comes rolling around, make sure there is a kegerator on hand, filled with some tasty German beer, because after all, the holiday itself is a German custom, and you know how Germans like their beer! Then sit back and think about what it would be like if Punxatawney Phil had just emerged from his own social outing around his own mini kegerator, and you’re sure to have a few good laughs on a cold winter day!