Nurse the Hate: My New Burgundy Book and NFL Week 14

 

I have returned from Portugal and the UK, where I have concluded that international travel is possible but a pain in the ass.  If you think the covid protocols are confusing wherever you are living, don't worry, they are just as confusing everywhere else but in slightly different ways.  Still, it's a manageable inconvenience.  It was nice to be back out and have confirmation that the world was bigger than my computer screen, occupation, and 25 minute radius of my house.  Standing at Quinta do Noval and looking down at the indescribably majestic Douro Valley as a warm wind kicked up made all the hassle worth it.  There is a sense of how temporary moments are while standing there, as the same vineyards have been producing the same wines the same way since the 1700s.  Generations churn along, all with their problems and challenges, while the valley and patchwork of vines are a landscape that present the same basic view.  There were men standing in that same spot worried about if they could shoot the rapids of the river to get their wine to market, or if the French Revolution was going to screw up their business, or if this Hitler fella was more than just a fiery speaker.  Meanwhile my biggest challenge was having my nose swabbed so I could safely pop across the ocean in a few hours.  It's all just perspective I guess.

I am looking forward to spending a day frivolously watching football and leafing through a new book I purchased.  I bought a massive book on Burgundy called "Inside Burgundy" by Jasper Morris MW.  The book is so physically large that I didn't want to absorb the cost of shipping it to the United States, which would have been roughly the same cost as flying Jasper Morris to my house so he could just tell me everything he knew about Burgundy as we watched football on the couch together.  

I bought the book at a historic London wine merchant called Berry Brothers & Rudd, a shop which has been importing and selling wine since 1698 at No. 3 St. James Street, just down the way from Buckingham Palace.  It has that Euro specialty shop sensibility where you feel like the staff has dismissed you as being unworthy the second after you walk in the door.  I am trying to work out right now if this feeling is based on my own insecurities or a cultural disconnect.  True, their customer base is probably focused on the various Brit douchebag lawyers that have sprouted up in the area like weeds, so they likely have their own defense mechanisms.  All those lawyer guys have a look.  They all go to the same men's wear shop and hair stylist.  There is no doubt that they are a handful to deal with when they preen on into the shop.  I would think I would be a breath of fresh air when I arrive all windblown in my shabby jeans and suitcase wrinkled shirt, but I likely send out the vibe of "American rube".  

This book was a chore to carry back to the hotel.  I can't believe the obsessive level of detail Morris committed himself to on it.  If you want to know who owns a tiny vineyard in Chambolle-Musigny, how they got it, and their policy on barrel usage is in making their wines, this is the book for you.  Yes, I think we can say this is a bit of a specialty book.  I can't imagine how long it took to assemble much less write.  It sort of points out, in rather dramatic fashion, how far I have to travel on my "MW journey".  (Like most of the English speaking world right now, the program refers to itself as "a journey" more often than I am comfortable.). Even if the sales of this book are limited to geeks like me, it's still a massive achievement he accomplished writing it at all.  I hope he takes comfort in knowing that it will be my companion today as we watch the Falcons v Panthers game.

Look, I am not terribly interested in that Panthers game.  It's just that I feel like the wheels have completely come off Carolina.  They fired their OC this week, as if he was to blame for not being able to score with a trio of QBs like Darnold/Walker/Newton.  Newton went 5 for 21 with two picks a couple weeks ago.  You can't win with that.  The vindictive nature of cutting the OC guy loose now and going out of your way to say you fired him "strictly for football reasons" means that something else was going on there.  Remember when the Panthers were 3-0 and everyone was talking about how they were a team on the rise?  That was a lifetime ago.  I'll take a crappy Falcons team +3.   Atlanta +3

I'm on Tampa today.  I don't know what happened to the Bills.  They were supposed to be an elite team, but before they got to enjoy their post-Tom Brady reign as the new AFC East powerhouse, The Hoodie cobbled together another team to beat them.  That game they lost last week had to be brutal.  They needed that win.  Instead they lost a physical game, lost their best cornerback, and now have to travel to Florida to play their nemesis Tom Brady after a bye.  That's a bad position to be in.  I am concerned that this seems to be a very popular side to bet on, but I can't figure out how to talk myself into the Bills winning.  Tampa -3.5

I want to bet against the Browns today, but the Ravens have a bunch of warning lights flashing red on them too.  This seems like a perfect time for Baltimore to stick a spear in the Browns season, but I don't trust Lamar right now.  There are also some rumors swirling around that Mayfield is going to get the hook if he's ineffective early.  Sadly, I would be all over Cleveland if Case Keenum was starting, which doesn't bode well for Mayfield's financial future on a new massive contract.  

Then I was thinking about betting on the Jets, which is ALWAYS a bad idea.  The Saints can't score, and now they are starting a bad QB with an injured hand.  However, I also can't come to grips with the idea of willingly walking up to a betting window with my money and saying "I'd like to entrust this money to Zack Wilson and the Jets sir!".  To do that is an act of madness and would essentially be me saying publicly, "I need help".  Frankly, if the line had stayed at Jets +6.5 at home, I might have done just that.  

Instead, I am going to do another foolhardy thing and take Cincinnati at home over San Francisco.  I can't figure out why a team that just lost to Seattle is favored on the road versus a team battling to win the AFC North.  Sure, Deebo Samual is going to try to play through his groin injury, but we have all seen that movie before.  The big news to me is that both of the 49ers starting cornerbacks are out today.  I think the one thing we can all agree on is that the Bengals can throw the ball.  I'm looking for a big day from Joe Burrow.  Cincinnati +1.5

Season Record 21-26