Behind the 8-Ball
Sometimes life is like an 8-ball tournament. You get your first match under your belt and move on to the next. You win a close cat-and-mouse game on the next match and then have to win the third game for the whole team to win the series.
You’re playing a guy who you are literally 2 ½ times better than. You know that because he’s rated a two and you’re a rated five. (The best you can be is an eight.)
Sometimes you completely lose your concentration. Your game falls apart with four balls left on the table and then you scratch the cue ball in the side pocket.
With ball in hand and only two balls left, your opponent sets up for his easy out. But he ends up drawing the cue ball so far back he leaves it on the head-rail when all he really needed to do was stop the ball. You know he doesn’t understand the game, that’s why he’s a two and he shouldn’t be beating you and knowing that, makes you play worse.
He has a pretty easy cut shot to the corner. But he comes down on his stick, cue ball flies and it looks like the eight is going to roll in easily. But then the 8-ball hits a small piece of chalk that is on felt of the table that must of broke off when someone was chalking their stick. The ball swerves to the complete opposite side of the table and leaves you a perfect shot in the corner for the game and match.
Your opponent drops his head and is pissed and salty as you call, “Eight in the corner.”
You both watch the eight as it slowly rolls in and your team screams as they know you’ve just put them in the finals.
Lucky or not, a win is a win and you will take it when you can.