Lost Again

Had my third straight pool match of the week last night. Suffice it to say I shouldn't have played. I played BAD. B. A. D. I got embarrassed again, too, but this time I didn't try as hard to get over it, I just kept playing bad. It was a sick, sick, sick feeling.

Okay, let me give you the play by play (not that you care, but there are a few interesting tid bits to the night):

I will call my opponent Tape Measure. I consider him a friend of mine, now that I got to know him better the last few seasons of this straight pool league. So, he's not just an "opponent" I don't know (like new members of the league) and he's is a really great guy.

Before we started the match at 630pm, Tape Measure told me that an 8ball league may start their new season this night, and the league director would want our particular table at 8pm. I looked at him in all dead seriousness, "Are you kidding me?" There are TEN tables and WE would have to move at 8pm if we weren't done because of a league? I told him, "well, I don't see a sign that says I have to be off this table at 8pm." He said the league director would ask us to move. He shared this info with me because (1) he knew she would ask us to move and (2) was letting me know because maybe we should move to another table, now, before we begin. I dug my heels and said, "Can I take her? I mean, really, how big is she?" He laughed and then I quickly added, "I'm just kidding. But really, I will tell her I'm not going to move because I was never told this before."

We start our match and things are fine. At inning 9, it's 24-27 him. One of the older gents that watched me play on Monday came over and I heard him say, "I wanna watch this girl." Tape Measure says, "one of your fan clubs is here." Well, isn't that great? lol. The gent is actually very quiet but I was "aware" he was watching. Shortly there after, one of the league members comes in who I don't know and sits with the gent and they talk a little about our game and the guy is watching intensely, also. Let me give a little background now - by inning 17, I have fouled FIVE times already. Yes, 5. WOW! A few were scratches and others I believe were because I was too scared of the close hit and barely hit the ball and fouled that way. So, yea, I'm a little ticked! I also start missing shots in the side and some long rail shots. Other league members come in, including one guy who beat me a couple of months ago this season in straight pool. He sits down and watches with the other two guys.

On inning 20, I am running out on a ten ball run and when I make the last ball, I also almost scratch! But instead, the cueball hits the side titty, then abruptly changes course. However, it doesn't just bounce off the tit - the cueball goes toward my break-out ball, and the then the break-out ball goes into the side! The gent and the other guy gasp and can't believe it! Wow. I am thinking, "at least I didn't scratch" lol. I of course then have to play safe because the ball is spotted with the rack. It was a decent safe.

However, after a few more innings, I get embarrassed because I'm missing more shots (I'm not staying down or taking my time at all), and a few more close hits and scratches lead to more fouls. :( By the time the match is done, I have added 4 more fouls to the score. FOUR! OMG, we finished at inning 39 and I foul 9 times, wth? I mean, WTH?!

I also started to continually miss the left side pocket shot - over and over. It was SO embarrassing. I tried to breathe a little, but I admit I wasn't really trying to get out of the feeling of embarrassment like I tried Monday night, I just kind kept going in a downward spiral even though I fully admit I wanted to play better in front of all these players who were watching and walking in. I know, you aren't suppose to care about that. I KNOW! But, this shows you that I wasn't mentally focused in the match.

I even had chances throughout the entire match. But, I was just playing too bad. I HATE playing bad. HATE it. :(

So, many more league players show up and all of a sudden around 810pm or so this little lady walks by and tells Tape Measure that she needs the table. She never tells me, never talks to me, and walks away and I never see her again to talk to her about it. This isn't like 9 ball where you can just rack on another table. I am running a few balls and AGAIN miss the side pocket. Ugh.
It was brutal. Tape Measure gets to the table and says to the league players watching, "we didn't know if you would have a league tonight. We will stop after this rack is finished." I was livid we had to move! I fully admit if I wasn't ticked and embarrassed at my play, I wouldn't have whined but I definitely stated out loud I thought it was stupid we had to move. I wasn't upset at Tape Measure at all, but some of league members of the league knew I was b1thcin.

I looked around at the TEN tables and there were only two open - and one was for the league! She made other people move to the inner tables and we were lucky there was one open at all for us. Evidently, this high and mighty league has to have all the outskirt tables. Wow, really? Where is the sign that tells me I have to be off that table at 8pm?

Yea, I wasn't very happy.

We did find another table and set the breakout ball and cueball where we thought they were on the previous table. I still kept playing badly, though, and finally lost 61-100 in inning 39. My high run for the match was 12, his was 10. I am actually shocked we finished in 39 innings with such low runs the whole night.

After the match, Tape Measure bought me a drink. I sipped it in my misery as I talked to my friend Bill about how badly I played and how I actually only bitched about moving tables because I was upset at my (lack of) play. I also told him I had a tourney this weekend coming up and was now concerned how I would play in it. :(

Bill was practicing 8 ball for a tourney and he asked me to play with him. I still had butterflies in my tummy from the pure disappointment of playing badly and the embarrassment was still running through me. After a couple of games and toward the end of my drink, I noticed I started to pay much better and the butterflies left. Hmm... could alcohol calm my nerves a little? You may find this hard to believe - but I did not know that. After all these years of playing pool, I either never heard that, never listened if anyone told me that, and never tried that. Of course, I didn't drink from 2000-2009 so I wouldn't have had the opportunity to try it during that time anyway. And as I mentioned before, when I drink, I have no coordination at the pool table, but obviously that's when I have more than 2 drinks (yea, I'mma light weight, lol).

I just realized, I should have a one-word description to describe my straight pool matches like I do for tournaments! This night would have been: @#$%

Yea, I hate playing bad.