Buffalo Rumblings
How the heck did the Buffalo Bills lose to the New England Patriots on Sunday Night Football? Was it the turnovers? Sure. Was it the inability to shut down Stefon Diggs and Drake Maye? Yup. I could go on, but there’s a more universal answer.
The Buffalo Bills lost their momentum early and couldn’t get it back.
Many fans who steer toward logic over emotion sneer at the idea of “momentum.” Some even call it fiction. I’ve heard it said that if you can’t measure it or define it, then it doesn’t exist. You’re in luck, I’ll define it below, but first I have an example for you. Football as a sport has momentum shifts, but it’s not typically so clear as to fully prove its existence. So let’s turn for a moment to my other favorite sport, volleyball.
Both of my daughters played the sport (youngest still does) and in volleyball, momentum is so glaring as to be undeniable. I already intended to write this, but as luck would have it I was gifted a perfect example in Week 5. For those unfamiliar, volleyball is divided into sets rather than time limits. Each set is usually played to 25 points, and teams compete to win the best of five sets. Games can be over in three sets if a team sweeps them.
My daughter’s team has been kicking butt this year. In a recent matchup, they won the first two sets easily, not allowing the other team to reach double digits in points. The third set though was where momentum loss reared it’s ugly head. Mistake after mistake. The entire team. At one point, the other team was ahead 22-20. Then her team took a time out, reset, and found their momentum. They won 25-23.
Despite my usual leaning toward logic rather than emotion when it comes to fandom, you might now know I have a background in psychology. If you use “momentum” to mean some sort of cosmic force that shifts like a changing wind, then I actually agree with momentum cynics. That’s not a thing. If you instead are a fan of behavioral sciences, then momentum becomes very easy to define and yes, I could measure it if I wanted to.
For me, momentum is defined as the impact of the current emotional and psychological state of a team or athlete on their performance. I guarantee you we’ve all seen it and lived it. Frustration, anger, self-doubt, fear, and many other conditions can lead to an impact on performance and a dive in momentum.
Momentum can be a fickle thing. Some people can harness emotions like anger and perform at an even higher level. Some people completely falter when even a little mad. Momentum can be something that’s isolated to one person. Or momentum can be as infectious as a yawn.
Wait. It sounds like you just mean “confidence?” Nope. Not at all. I’ve known many confident people...
