This past weekend golfer, Tom Watson accomplished an amazing feat. Golfer Watson, at almost 60 years young, displayed amazing skills and stamina finishing the British Open Championship in second place. The tournament took place at Turnberry Golf Course in Scotland. This particular venue is one of the most difficult on the tour. With punishing winds and holes so difficult they could make the great Bobby Jones recoil, Tom Watson outperformed all the other golfers (except for the winner) and ended up one spot from the top. Yes siree, that’s how I choose to reflect upon this extraordinary, unexpected completion of the 2009 British Open. Of course if this was a TV movie Tom Watson would have made his last putt, scored par for the hole, the ebullient crowd would have gone wild and golf ball shaped balloons would have fallen from the sky.
My question is why can’t we celebrate second place? Can we only appreciate and heroe worship the first place winner? What the heck is so wrong with coming in second? All we heard or read was “too bad Tom Watson blew the last putt”. “If only he could have had the confidence to par the eighteenth hole”. Instead of celebrating this most unexpected event all the banter was about the travesty of finishing in second place.
Every fours years, when we hold a Presidential election we are subjected to the experts bashing the candidate that finished second. I can think of many wonderful candidates who never won first place through circumstances their challenge to come in first was just not accomplished. No, they didn’t get to pour beer into their championship trophy, nor assume the Presidency but they should still be honored, respected and celebrated for their efforts that landed them just a few steps behind the winner at the finish line.
Maybe, just maybe, we should finally give respect and recognition to some great seconds:
My Son, Beaver, he is my second born child but he shares first place with his brother Wally, for their parent’s love.
My dog, White Fang: Yes, Black Tooth was our family’s first dog but our love for White Fang completely matches our devotion to Black Tooth. Hubert Humphrey was the great senator from Minnesota. He also served as VP to Lyndon Johnson. Humphrey finished second to Richard Nixon and we all know the rest of that story or should I just say “Watergate”?
Lamar Odom, is proof that if a team doesn’t have a good bench ready to go right into the game you can just forget about winning the NBA championship. Really, I don’t care if you have the greatest player in the league (sorry Labron but Kobe is the Man) you simply aren’t winning the Larry O’Brien trophy without great back up players.
Al Gore, he was of course VP to William Jefferson Clinton and finished second (or did he?) to George W. Bush. Oops, we have another iffy ending here. The second placers are really looking very good as this list progresses. After coming second, Al Gore was successful in alerting us to the dangers of Global Warming.
All righty now, I believe that my point has been made. All of this second place talk has guided my thoughts into second label wines. There really are so many wonderful wines available from coveted producers at much more affordable prices because they end up in, (yes, here we go) second place.
How does a wine end up in second place or a second label you might ask? Basically - but not always - the grapes used simply didn’t make the cut for the more premium wine.
The following second label wines are further evidence that second place can be a real win/win for the consumer:
Domaine Drouhin (Oregon) Pinot Noir-Cloudline (approx $20.00). The Domaine Drouhin Pinot Noir cost approx $50.00.
Pahlmeyer-Jayson (approx $50.00) Their Bordeaux style wine can be found for approx $120.00 making this wine a higher end second.
Chateau Petrus-definitely one of the most sought after and very expensive Bordeaux wines. Christian Mouiex Merlot at approx $10.00 is their bargain second label.
Darioush Cabernet Sauvignon-Their second label Cabernet Sauvignon is Caravan at approx $40.00. I found this wine to be a very full bodied, enjoyable wine, with flavors of violets, coffee and chocolate. You are paying approx. half the cost of The Darioush Cabernet Sauvignon.
There are lots of other wonderful second label offerings out there for the interested consumer. Check the internet and your local wine store for even more choices.
Second place athletes, candidates, offspring, family pets, wines and I’m sure even second spouses in some cases should all be given the respect and appreciation they deserve. I remember fondly getting second billing to Jimmy Stewart in “It’s a Wonderful Life.” I was an important element of the movie, but I was not listed first on the marquee. I felt my contributions were essential to the story line. Face it, Jimmy Stewart needed me to co-star as his wife and tolerate his crazy behavior. Well, that is the subject of another blog entry that I may possibly reveal if I consume too much wine in the future.
So to all of you brilliant second placers out there I raise my glass, filled with my incredible second label wine and say “Salute!”
Wishing you a day filled with lots of great second helpings.
XXOO
Mrs. Reed
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