Battle of egos

A battle of egos is a phrase used metaphorically to describe competitions that are based on pride and often entail prodigious and arrogant demonstrations of prowess. A type of dueling similar to a pissing contest, ego battles are often seen as an arrogant way to determine who is the "bigger man" (as far as being superior right in an argument) by a competitive methodology that is not especially productive. The idiom is usually used figuratively and often refer to forms of ego-driven battling in a pejorative manner.

Ego battles
A Tehran newspaper described the dispute between George W. Bush and Saddam Hussein as a battle of egos. The competition between television advertisements during the Super Bowl has been described as a battle of egos nicknamed "The Ego Bowl". A 1998 collective bargaining dispute in the National Basketball Association was also described as a battle of egos.