There are first times and then there’s the rest. Everything after the first time of a participation or experience is a different thing all together. The second, third and fourth times typically reaffirm and strengthen the initial experience, but the uniqueness of the first time has passed.
Tonight, May 18, we sit down yet again at our table in the Left Bank Bordeaux Cup semi-finals in London. If you remember, last year we proceeded from the semis and finished third in the 2012 finals. The five-star Connaught Hotel in Mayfair is our gracious host this year. The CBS Wine competition team consists of new-comer Christian, CBS Wine founder Peter and recent father Asbjørn. I, Thor, have come along as the coach this year. Being the coach basically entails helping the team with their preparations and giving the occasional back rub.
So this is the second time for us, though we’re still the young guns compared to our rivals. The competition setup is clear to us and the psychological factors are better known this time around. The situation presents two opposite consequences. The upside is that distractions like anxiety and misunderstandings are excluded, leaving the CBS Wine team to focus its efforts on the task at hand. The downside is that we might become complacent in our training and competition efforts, thinking that we’ve got the game locked due to experience.
Personally, I think neither is true. And that’s a good thing on both accounts. A sense of urgency is important to undertake any worthwhile challenge, and I believe the team effort will be stronger as a result.
What Are We Up Against?
Four other teams will do their best to throw us off the platform. We don’t really know how worried we should be about the competition. We know what schools are competing, but not how skilled their members are. The Oxford lads are friends of ours and they know their shiraz, for sure. They look like the ones to beat, but tonight will show if we’re underestimating Cambridge and the other teams.
The Left Bank Bordeaux Cup is easily the most prestigious varsity wine competition in the world. Two teams from the United States, Asia, France and Europe ‘ex-France’ qualify in regional semi-finals in order to get to the Bordeaux finals. The immediate ambition of CBS Wine is to be one of the two European teams who qualify tonight. We will do our very best in the name of Copenhagen Business School. Let’s kick some ass!
CBS Wine 