Football is Stronger than Wine

Wine South is an annual event in Atlanta, and for wine lovers like myself it is huge. There are hundreds of wineries represented, pouring samples of their best wines, and there are probably a couple dozen local restaurants handing out delicious gourment food samples. There's also live music, celebrity chefs, wine and food related seminars, etc. It's a little pricey to attend, but for someone like me who loves food and wine, it's well worth the price of admission. It used to be at a location that's relatively nearby our house, so it wasn't a big deal to get Brian to drop off a friend and me and pick us up. After sampling that much wine, I wouldn't think of driving myself! Well, a few years ago it moved to the Gwinnett Civic Center, which is on the other side of the world in Atlanta geography. Seriously, it's about an hour away. I haven't gone since it has been there just because it is so far, and I wouldn't impose that drive on my dear hubby. This year my sister-in-law and her sister are coming from Alabama to go to Wine South and staying at a nearby hotel. They invited me to go with them and stay with them. Sounds like a great plan... until I discover this year's football schedules. Clemson is playing Florida State and Auburn is playing LSU that day. That changes things. You see, as much as I love wine, I live for college football. Seriously, I get depressed in January and can't wait until September. I LOVE it! And unlike wine, it's not around that long each year. I can drink wine anytime, right? It's not every day that I can watch a great game. Now, you may be thinking, "just Tivo the games." We've done that in the past, and it's just not the same. Until you can see the game, you have to work really hard to avoid any scores or information about the game in order to view it with the "element of surprise." It's not nearly exciting to watch a game when you already know the outcome. And even if you do manage to not find out anything, it still loses a bit of lustre knowing that it's already happened. That's just me. I still haven't ruled out that option because afterall, I could really have my cake and eat it too. I could go to Wine South, avoid newspapers, radio and TV until I get home on Sunday and watch both games. That's a weekend dreams are made of! Still, what I have taken away from this whole thing is my initial reaction. When I saw that two games I really want to see are on the same day as Wine South, I thought, "shit, I can't go to Wine South." Gut reaction. Instinct. Football is stronger than wine. Amen!