Parrotheader.com

And I'm not talking about the experience. Well, not directly anyway.

I'm talking about the food. Seriously. I don't know what it is, but whenever I'm at a sporting event I always get a major craving for hot dogs and nachos (and beer if available.) And I guess it's just the heightened sense of awareness and enjoyment from being at a major sporting event, but those items always seem to taste infinitesimally better in those surroundings.

The hot dog I had at Coleman Coliseum last night was the best I've had since . . . . . well my last hot dog at Bryant-Denny stadium. The fact that I'm paying close to $4.00 for a hot dog I'd ordinarily pay only $1.85 for is beside the point. It's worth 10x that amount! And if I were at a major pro sports game I'd probably be paying that amount. However, even though I'm not a huge baseball fan I've always maintained that one of the sporting events I'd most like to attend would be a midweek Cubs game at Wrigley field. I think that might just about be nirvana in this context.

It's possibly even more pronounced when it comes to golf as I crave these things not only as a spectator but as a player. If I'm out playing a round of golf, nothing seems to complete the experience more. And what do I look forward to almost as much as the golf itself whenever I go to the Regions Charity Classic (formerly Bruno's Memorial Classic) each year? The hospitality tent. All the free hot dogs and beer you could possibly want. If I didn't think it to be in poor taste I'd just pull my chair up to the buffet table and put Kobayashi to shame.

This Pavlovian response is so ingrained in my psyche now that I can't fight it. It doesn't matter if I just ate a full slab of ribs washed down with a big baked potato and a carton of ice cream. I'm GOING to eat that hot dog no matter what the cost! Fortunately, I've learned to plan ahead for this weakness and no longer eat before I go to these events so I can save room for those little links of heaven.