New Study Investigates Role of Momentum in Sports Outcomes

Bristol, CT - It's a tale as old as time in the world of competitive sports. Your favorite team is on a winning streak, or the player you idolize has a hot hand and is scoring basket after basket, when suddenly it all falls apart. The momentum that had built up quickly dissipates and they never recover. But is the phenomenon of momentum truly a factor that positively influences individuals and teams, or is it just superstition?

A professional baseball player, shown here demonstrating a .3 mg/L decrease in momentum after swinging on a 3-0 count with the bases loaded

The results of a comprehensive study of the affect of momentum on outcomes in sports competitions, published this week in Online Publishing Module #8,939, appear to confirm the popular belief that momentorrhea, the excessive loss or discharge of momentum, is useful in predicting a negative outcome for a specific team or individual.

"We've suspected that relative momentum levels are a major determinant in both individual statistics and team wins and losses for decades," sports scientist Lamarcus Brand explained. "But we also used to think that the ratio of games worn to consecutive victories predicted how lucky a pair of socks are, and now we all have egg on our faces. In science, you follow the data, not the feelings."

The study, which involved the prospective analysis of serum momentum levels in competing teams and individual participants in nearly 200 elite sporting events, from baseball to Olympic painting, looked specifically at the role of momentum loss in both performance and outcomes. They found that teams suffering momentorrhea during a competition lost without exception, and that poor individual performance was a near ubiquitous result. According to Brand, who also provides color commentary for PBA events on ESPN 2, the study should serve as a future template for scientific examination of anecdote driven beliefs in sports. "We took a Bayesian approach, reevaluating momentum levels in light of the outcome. It's more complicated, but it's ultimately a much more satisfying way of interpreting the data."