There's no event outbreaks yet, how can you call it excessive fear? Shorting vol when there's only concerns are very risky. Concerns don't go away easily without facts settled. So shorting vol now means you're betting against the event. How informed are you regarding the event? Shorting vol is most rewarding when events broke out and people, for whatever reason, just want to buy unjustifiably expensive insurance(thus pushing up vol to ridiculous level).