A long time ago in a galaxy far far away... Center City Philadelphia to be exact... there once was a tavern named "Doc Watson's". In a dark corner of this tavern, way in the back of a small room, upstairs... there lives an air hockey table (this was in the days of the legendary Brunswick).
On this table, a group of all but forgotten air hockey players helped mold the great Jesse Douty into a champion. Many wars were fought between such great but little remembered players as Tom Martin, John Hollander, Bill Vessel, The Great Carlo (You'll have to ask Jesse his last name), Harry Doe, Alan Porter, and many others. Of all of these great men, perhaps the most feared and dangerous was the Great Carlo. Carlo was a handsome man with flowing black hair and great strength and a fierce Italian accent which helped enhance a fierce verbal attack.
One fine day, destiny had it that the Great Carlo and Jesse Douty (then known as "the Kid") were to play a challenge match... The match began, and the Great Carlo immediately attacked the Douty Kid with barrage of shots accompanied by a barrage of verbal abuse. "I'm going to stick this puck up your ass, Jesse!" "Which side would you like me to score on? The left side? The right side? Or right down ze middle?" "Here comes my double-bubble shot..." were among some of the many orations practiced by the Great One. Accompanied by his sidekicks, Billy Vessel and Harry Doe who further served to intimidate the champion, Carlo had Jesse at his mercy for a set...
Jesse, upon losing the set, complained (and rightfully so) about the distractions. The Great Carlo calmly responded..."I stop playing now... I am much better than you."
The Douty kid was flabberghasted, and pointed out that Carlo would lose the match by forfeit.
The Great Carlo was undaunted, and said nonchalantly, "So you win de match, but I win de set!" and walked off triumphantly.
So ended the saga of Jesse vs. the Great Carlo. The moral of the story is, don't play the great Carlo unless you don't mind going home feeling like a loser, even if you win.
Hope you like the story,