at work, we have this foosball table that a couple of us play on after a hard day’s work; the teams are fairly balanced so it’s usually an entertaining matchup and games are decided by one or two goals. i’ve noticed that in the early going everyone just swings their men hoping for a lucky bounce or a timely deflection; but once the score reaches 6-6 in a race to 8, everyone brings their A-game to the table. we stop the trash talk and crowd over the table with our heads bent, watching the ball’s every move. you can tell that we’re actually trying now. funny how some things work like that.