Which sport do you think is the most and least affected by momentum?

[CHOPTALK]

Hey MD.

You do bring up some good points.

I do agree with some of what you say and disagree with some of it.

I think you might have a false perception on exactly what we think momentum is.

I don't think it's some magical power like The Force on Star Wars that lands on a player or team and makes them play better or worse.

I think we may be using the wrong term when people say momentum maybe we should be saying confidence or "in or out of the zone" or some other word or phrase instead.

I agree with most of what you say but disagree strongly with your free throw example .

You can certainly get in a zone good or bad when shooting free throws.

Ive been there . There are times when you can't miss and there are times when you can't hit 60%.

Momentum or lack of it may not be the best term to use but your comment about making a free throw does not help or hurt your odds of making or missing the next free throw. That is simply not true.

I have seen people like Shaq or Jordan make 10 free throws in a row.
There are nights when even hack a Shaq or hack a Jordan blows up in the other teams face.

I don't know if you should call that momentum, but whatever it is is real.

 

[TomGshotput]

I think you might have a false perception on exactly what we think momentum is.

So please enlighten us with what it is. Is it different than the wikipedia definition?

I have seen people like Shaq or Jordan make 10 free throws in a row.

If DeAndre Jordan makes two free throws in a row, what are the odds that he will also make the next eight attempts that game? If he makes four in a row, what are the odds that he makes the next six attempts? Would you be willing to make a bet on this if it is different than what his actual percentage would suggest?

 

[CHOPTALK]

So please enlighten us with what it is. Is it different than the wikipedia definition?



If DeAndre Jordan makes two free throws in a row, what are the odds that he will also make the next eight attempts that game? If he makes four in a row, what are the odds that he makes the next six attempts? Would you be willing to make a bet on this if it is different than what his actual percentage would suggest?

Your live betting analogy sucks.

Who said anything about predicting momentum?

Just because you can predict momentum that does not mean it don't exist.

So since we can't predict earthquakes does that mean there is no such thing as an earthquake?

Nobody said anything about being able to predict when it begins and ends so your live betting example basically sucks

 

[slapshot]

just because you have the momentum for a while in a game doesn't mean you will win that game

 

[Mr_Mark]

I have a feeling we are all referring to the same thing, its just a different assumption of the meaning behind the word.

I think of it as when everything is just going right. We have all seen it and in all sports. Momentum is just the name for it, not the "cause" of it.

Someone is not playing good because of the magical momentum suddenly came upon them.

Basketball - Maybe fatigue is setting in on a defender, a player is cramping up, a breakdown in communication on defense, all while now a shooter finally finds their rhythm, gets a 2nd wind, fresh legs on a sub. Impossible to predict but how can you not see it when it happens? 10-0 runs, comeback at the end of the game when down 20. Hits the buzzard beater and takes it into OT.

 

[basesAREloaded]

Overall, momentum believers will be crushed.

Whether pre-game or in game.

And I mean crushed.

 

[Illini]

Boxing. Momentum means Everything..

Look, it's the stiff that burned down his own house to collect insurance money!

 

[JakeT.]

Lol. Momentum. .... does anyone even actually know what "momentum" even is? Or is it just some mythical thing that just takes over games?

Momentum in sports is the most overrated term. Biggest myth. Doesn't exist in sports.

Agreed.

 

[Mobdeeper7239]

Two posters who joined in 2002 also think that momentum in sports doesn't exist. I'll take that. Thanks fellas for chiming in.

 

[Mobdeeper7239]

Your live betting analogy sucks.

Who said anything about predicting momentum?

Just because you can predict momentum that does not mean it don't exist.

So since we can't predict earthquakes does that mean there is no such thing as an earthquake?

Nobody said anything about being able to predict when it begins and ends so your live betting example basically sucks

An earthquake is a natural occurrence that is a proven fact. I am providing sports examples of why momentum does not exist. Still waiting for someone to really make full sense of a momentum incident in sports.

It is a word that everyone uses to describe the situation but really the word makes no sense in sports terms when you really think about it. Either way we are having a prettty good discussion in here

 

[Mobdeeper7239]

Hey MD.

You do bring up some good points.

I do agree with some of what you say and disagree with some of it.

I think you might have a false perception on exactly what we think momentum is.

I don't think it's some magical power like The Force on Star Wars that lands on a player or team and makes them play better or worse.

I think we may be using the wrong term when people say momentum maybe we should be saying confidence or "in or out of the zone" or some other word or phrase instead.

I agree with most of what you say but disagree strongly with your free throw example .

You can certainly get in a zone good or bad when shooting free throws.

Ive been there . There are times when you can't miss and there are times when you can't hit 60%.

Momentum or lack of it may not be the best term to use but your comment about making a free throw does not help or hurt your odds of making or missing the next free throw. That is simply not true.

I have seen people like Shaq or Jordan make 10 free throws in a row.
There are nights when even hack a Shaq or hack a Jordan blows up in the other teams face.

I don't know if you should call that momentum, but whatever it is is real.

IMO and in my experiences....I can say that free throws is all mental.

First of all there are no defenders. So there are no factors bothering the shot. Its a free shot. With the forms and knowledge people have nowadays on jump shooting....it makes no sense why a 40% 3 pt shooter is shooting 50% from the FT line. Bruce Bowen. It's mental it has to be.

I was a 60% ft shooter. I learned one trick and now I'm mid 80's. The trick is nothing extremely significant but now that I go to the line thinking about my tip instead of thinking if I'm going to make this free shot. That's part mental imo and part the tip I learned.

 

[Mobdeeper7239]

Basketball and baseball are percentage sports. How the game is decided often comes down to percentages.

Football or soccer there are way more crazy factors that decide the outcome of games imo.

 

[Illini]

Anyone that doesn't believe in momentum is a tool. Humans all are weak at some level, and much of athletics is mental. Yeah, momentum in sports might not be a tangible thing, like it is in physics. But everyone everywhere knows its effect on games. Watch Bama Auburn 2010 and tell me again how there is no such thing as momentum. Auburn down 24-0 without a first down, 4 minutes left in the 2Q. Dominate, absolutely dominate the rest of the game and win. If Ingram doesn't fumble the ball, Bama likely wins by 40. But the momentum changed, Bama panicked, and the game changed on a dime. Just one example of many. Human beings are affected by it, whether you accept it or not.

 

[wilbur]

You get the momentum going in a good game of checkers and noone can touch you.

 

[TomGshotput]

Your live betting analogy sucks.

Who said anything about predicting momentum?

Just because you can predict momentum that does not mean it don't exist.

So since we can't predict earthquakes does that mean there is no such thing as an earthquake?

Nobody said anything about being able to predict when it begins and ends so your live betting example basically sucks

It is not about predicting it, it is about being able to identify it while it is happening. Since you refuse to even define what it is, it's pretty clear you are talking out of your ass on this one

1) Define what momentum is
2) Identify it during a game
3) Bet on it
4) Earn $400,000 per year

If someone can do that, it absolutely exists. If someone cannot do any of that, it does not exist

If someone can only manage the first step, than it may exist, but it is completely impossible to separate momentum from randomness. If someone thinks they have the first two steps but can't beat the market price, than almost certainly much of what they believe is momentum is really just talent or ability.

 

[pocketrockets]

Anyone that doesn't believe in momentum is a tool. Humans all are weak at some level, and much of athletics is mental. Yeah, momentum in sports might not be a tangible thing, like it is in physics. But everyone everywhere knows its effect on games. Watch Bama Auburn 2010 and tell me again how there is no such thing as momentum. Auburn down 24-0 without a first down, 4 minutes left in the 2Q. Dominate, absolutely dominate the rest of the game and win. If Ingram doesn't fumble the ball, Bama likely wins by 40. But the momentum changed, Bama panicked, and the game changed on a dime. Just one example of many. Human beings are affected by it, whether you accept it or not.

+1

Momentum in sports is way more realistic than streaks on casino gambling.

 

[JakeT.]

http://freakonomics.com/2011/11/20/football-freakonomics-is-momentum-a-myth-2/

 

[JakeT.]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot-hand_fallacy

 

[JakeT.]

http://wexler.free.fr/library/files... on the misperception of random sequences.pdf

 

[JakeT.]

Plenty of studies point toward "momentum" being entirely random IE not real. Just statistical anomalies as far as I'm concerned. Flip a coin 20 times and sometimes you'll get tails 20 times in a row. That's not because of "momentum".