Lucas seems to be imagining a scenario where, late in a game, one team is trying to catch up to the other and tie to force an overtime. Either that, or playing for the tie as opposed to victory. His point of reference is more likely board games than sports, because Lucas doesn't know much about sports other than they are played by threatening males. Anyway, a tie usually means a chance to keep competing. Either in this game, or at a later date. Nothing is resolved. Perhaps there can be a morale victory in a tie, if one side was a heavy underdog.
I find it remarkable that Lucas favors the tie over the victory, perhaps recognizing that victory is out of his reach, or just being so unfamiliar with it he can't imagine it. He's not playing to win, but reminding himself to play for the tie. Boys who struggle at competition are often told to focus on how they play the game, not the results. Lucas has no doubt heard this, and is echoing the advice: he tells himself not to focus so much on winning, just have fun.
But that means playing for the tie. Lucas declares that a tie is possible in the courtship game because "eventually everyone dies." If one man dies a virgin, and the other with 144 children no skin on his dick from all the fornication, it is a tie? Competition over, draw declared? It is not clear to this Wernologist what a "tie" means, or how that connects to mortality, but we may assume victory in the courtship game means access to puss puss. And defeat, that's what Lucas experiences daily. Isolation, Scorn. No puss puss.
Anyway, Lucas appears to be telling himself that he if he doesn't play the courtship game to win, but rather "plays for the tie," he will be less offputting to others, and likely to have more success in the courtship game. His problem, as he's diagnosed it, is that he tries too hard. I'd credit Lucas with a bit of self-awareness, if this wasn't the kind of thing he's told all the time, and if he wasn't still trying so hard to achieve a loathsome goal: smash teen girl puss puss.
Two other lines merit comment. "Start with hello and eyecontact" and "You have to purr a little before you roar." As to the former, Lucas reminds himself of a good way to start a conversation with a strange ovulator: look them in the eye and say hello. It is recorded in the annals of Werner that Lucas is seldom, if ever, able to make it to this step. His confidence in it's efficacy demonstrates how rarely he follows through on harassing girls. Much of his time must be devoted to failing to muster the nerve to accost an ovulator, look her in the eye, and break the ice with a highly practiced line.
"You have to purr a little before you roar" is, of course, nonsense. It would be unfair to expect anything else from Lucas. From context, we can tell that "purring" and "roaring" are placed within the courtship game. Lucas is talking about the proper way to communicate with baes apparently. Lucas divides this into two discrete categories: purring and roaring. Cats purr for a variety of reasons. It can convey satisfaction, or be a symptom of stress. When usesd to describe humans, "purring" has shades of solicitation and seduction. Roars are used to communicate a variety of messages, all aggressive, from warnings to dominance displays.
Lucas is, perhaps, reminding himself to be seductive before aggressive, because this how to play the courtship game. "Roaring" is presented as the authentic Lucas, that must be held back until he has purred the right amount.
I think purring/roaring is a useful way to describe Lucas's behavior. Thank you Lucas. He switches back and forth between feeble efforts to seduce, and furiously lashing out when that fails. Consider the recent IM leaks, which swiftly go from "Hello, I'm Lucas, you seem really interesting...(purr purr)" to "FUCK YOU DIE BITCH (roar roar").
It's not in the cards but it IS in the tiles...
