Come To Think of It: The Reality of Momentum in Sports

The concept of momentum affecting the outcome of sporting events has been a long debated subject. But does it really exist, or is it just a temporary shift in confidence?

Here are a couple of quotes from the Chicago Tribune: “The Blackhawks took a charter flight from Vancouver to Chicago after Saturday night’s Game Two victory, but they just as easily could have ridden their momentum home.” 

From that same article, here’s Dave Bolland of the Chicago Blackhawks: “Taking this momentum now and bringing it into our rink is huge for us.”

When will this concept of momentum having any meaning in sports ever end? Why must professional writers and commentators continue to believe in this stuff?

Of course, the Blackhawks lost their game Tuesday night despite having all of this so-called momentum on their side. But that's just one small example. It happens all the time in professional sports.

For example, you will see a baseball team score a run or two to take the lead in their half of the inning, only to give it right back the next inning.

In the NFL, you often find a team coming off of a supposedly inspirational victory losing the following week. The NBA has these kinds of roller coaster rides almost every night.

Heck, it even happens in the political arena. Remember the primaries last year? That crazy momentum was at it again.

Look, Hillary Clinton didn't lose the Democratic nomination because of any momentum loss coming out of Iowa, just as I believe teams don't win or lose because of this concept.

Sports fans and announcers use terms like the "Hot Hand," and the "Big Mo" to describe momentum, while the psychologists call it Psychological Momentum (PM).

According to LiveScience.com, "Regarding PM in baseball, a Wall St. Journal article looked at last year's MLB playoffs, only to conclude there was no affect on postseason play coming from team momentum at the end of the regular season."

More recently, Another Cubs Blog also looked at momentum into this year's playoffs, including opinion from baseball stats guru Bill James, another PM buster.

For basketball, Thomas Gilovich's 1985 research into streaky, "hot hand" NBA shooting is "the foundation for most of today's arguments against the existence of PM, or at least its affect on outcomes."

So what do you think? Does it really exist? Is it just a temporary shift in confidence and mood, or does it actually change the outcome of a game or a season?

There is no question that we will continue to hear references to momentum swings during games, come to think of it.