A Bruised Ego

I lose the first set pretty quick and feel a little pissed. My ego doesn't bruise real well. Between changeovers, I ask my opponent how much money he has on him. "Eighty bucks," he says. "You're on," I tell him. Despite having already dropped the opening set, I'm ready to raise the stakes. My game has yet to show, and I'm not sure if it ever will. But with a little money on the line, I have to play better, right? Time to bring my real game and take this chump. And then I continue to miss here, and miss there, and play like crap. I quickly lose the second set and the match. I lose eighty bucks. My real game never comes close to showing. My bruised ego is now poor.