Is momentum real, or completely illusory?

It's Saturday night and I'm watching the first inning of the World Series when my son calls me from Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. Only minutes before the game began, he and his friends were able to purchase choice seats a few rows up from the Yankees dugout for just $200 apiece, a lucky outcome chalked up to the pouring rain conditions. It's the first home game of the series for the Phillies, and I can actually feel my son's excitement over the phone, it's palpable and contagious. We quickly end our conversation and I return to watch the game, but now I'm caught up in the thrill myself and the momentum begins. The home crowd is absolutely deafening and the Phillies surge 3-0 in the first two innings. Surely that's an insurmountable lead, and when I text that to my son, he replies that he's never been a part of such jubilance and joy, the experience itself is obviously priceless..

Suddenly, that early inning momentum abruptly ends for the Phillies. The Yankees start to score and predictably, the boos become what's deafening now, but within an hour or so, even the booing starts tapering off. By the 7th inning I can't bear watching any longer and I actually turn off my TV. I'm not a rabid Phillies fan by any means, but the momentum has been transferred, and albeit vicariously, I'm feeling all the disappointment I know my son is feeling at that moment.

Momentum isn't just an athletic phenomena. Barack Obama harnessed the power of momentum during the election last year. There seemed to be a pivotal point in October 2008, (like right now in the World Series) where McCain just began to sink rapidly into an almost deathly plunge. Was it real or illusory? Given another month, could McCain have overcome all the forces working against him (Sarah Palin's exposed weaknesses, the devastating economy) to reclaim his former hold? I don't think so.

Given another chance tonight, can the Phillies recapture their momentum? The Yankees now have a definite psychological edge going into this 5th game of the series. What do you think - is that real or illusory? Can the Phillies overcome the Yankees momentum?

Down 3-1 to the Bombers is a pretty deep hole. Momentum aside, the Phils need to basically duplicate what the Red Sox did to the Yanks in the ALCS in 2004 when they staged the greatest turnaround in baseball history. Not impossible, but very unlikely. Even if they win Game 5, they need to win out, and that tough to do against anybody, expecially the Yankees.

how things seem to look and feel as long as things are going your way . . . until they're not. It's something of a tautology. External events beyond your control can impose a reversal of "momentum" instantaneously. And by contrast, as the cliche goes, it is often true (not always, though) that "you make your own momentum".

"Momentum is tomorrow's pitcher."~ Vin Scully

The ebb and flow of momentum in NY-23 and the NJ Governor's race has been fun to watch. Momentum is like polls though....a snapshot in time.

I think both teams are evenly matched as far as talent, all the hype given A-Rod aside. There's no reason whatsoever for the Phils to sink tonight. Except that momentum is working against them now. It's real, but you can't touch it. You can only feel it.

there'd be no such thing as momentum. If the players could turn off their feelings and superstitions and doubts while they played, there'd be no such thing as momentum. But human beings are subject to emotion, which is why momentum can affect the outcome. It may not be scientifically quantifiable, but it's real.

That doesn't sound much like a Philly sports fan...

Kidding aside, the problem now is that they have to not sink for three games in a row against a team that's at least as good as they are. Could happen, but the law of averages is against them. Dammit.

just sayin. p=mv

Tangible, yet intangible. Doesn't matter; the Phillies are doomed tonight.

(I just heard they've been fighting the swine flu all week. Charlie Manual won't say who's sick and who isn't).

in the free agent era.

are not out of it yet (unless they lose tonight, of course) is that the Yankee skipper's big gamble has not yet been tested. I heard this morning on SportsCenter that they are the first club since the Braves in 1992 (Smoltz, Glavine, Avery) to even attempt playing through a whole World Series with a true three-man rotation. The Braves lost. We don't quite know yet whether the Yankees hurlers, stars all, well-earned accolades etc., can physically pull it off. Maybe we won't have to find out.

The Phillies have their work cut out for them simply by dint of the fact that they're down 3-1. No room for error. But they certainly could win three in a row against a very good team (they swept the season series against the Cardinals, and the Cardinals have The Best Player In Baseball (The God Who Wears Cleats)). The law of averages says that the Phillies should win three games in a row against an evenly matched team one out of eight times.

It is possible for a team to feel that the fates are arrayed against them, and when they do, they generally play like they're going to lose. But I'm guessing that if the Phillies were easily swayed by adversity, they wouldn't be where they are now.

looks as though the Phillies have recaptured their momentum, alright. (As of the 4th inning, anyway...)