SPORT
Momentum
/ Adam Underhill
01.08.10
Mo’. Huh. For what, exactly, is it good? I’m talking about the Big Mo’, otherwise known as momentum. We hear a lot about it in the NFL this time of year. Some teams have it, some teams don’t. If momentum had an NFL-related definition, it would be something like, “the progress of a football team as it heads toward the post season, generally measured in victories.” Like spacecraft that use the gravitational pull of planets to fling them to the outer reaches of the solar system, teams like to use one win to propel themselves to the next, building velocity as they hurl toward the Super Bowl.
Anything that compromises momentum is anathema to coaches and players. Anything, that is, except for nothing. Maintaining momentum while playing for “nothing” can cause injuries to key players. If a team is locked into its playoff seeding, and cannot possibly improve upon it, then momentum be damned. Such games are deemed meaningless, because, as any true fan knows, even the worst NFL game (Lions-Rams) has more meaning in its stat sheet than the sexual congress of Zeus and Hera. Thus here we sit, eating Cheetos and questioning the judgment and competitive nature of a team that had a shot at greatness but settled for pretty-goodness, and wondering about the momentum of all the others. We forget that NFL games do not happen as back-to-back-to-back events. They are self-encompassing. Winning and losing streaks exist, to be sure. But whether a team wins a game or not depends on plenty of variables, including talent, game planning, execution, weather conditions, venue, conditioning, and injuries. What happened last week has little bearing on anything this week, besides team confidence. Players and coaches always preach about taking it one game at a time, having a short memory, moving on after a win or loss, etc. In this sense, they are right - at least more right than when they cite momentum as a factor. If momentum were truly so important, then teams would not be battling for a first-round bye!
The Indianapolis Colts were smart to rest their starters the past couple of weeks insofar as it gives them a shot at a healthy run in the playoffs, which is far better than chasing the false promise of momentum. However! The Colts had an opportunity to make NFL history. At 14-0, with many of their wins achieved in come-from-behind fashion, the Colts (and we’re not sure whether it was coach Jim Caldwell, team president Bill Polian, or owner Jim Irsay) chose to sit their starters and not play to win. No doubt the team justifies the decision with its pursuit of the Lombardi trophy. Yet, every year one team wins the Super Bowl; only one team (1972 Dolphins) went undefeated (17-0) while doing it. No team has gone 19-0. Two years ago, when the New England Patriots lost their 19th and only game, we saw how difficult making history can be. It’s the dream of every athlete to be mentioned as the greatest among his peers. It’s the nature of any competitor to do what’s never been done before and may never be done again. The Colts decided that the status quo was good enough. Of course, fans and players will savor a championship, but they’ll always be saying, “We coulda been the best.” Now we’ll never know.
Anything that compromises momentum is anathema to coaches and players. Anything, that is, except for nothing. Maintaining momentum while playing for “nothing” can cause injuries to key players. If a team is locked into its playoff seeding, and cannot possibly improve upon it, then momentum be damned. Such games are deemed meaningless, because, as any true fan knows, even the worst NFL game (Lions-Rams) has more meaning in its stat sheet than the sexual congress of Zeus and Hera. Thus here we sit, eating Cheetos and questioning the judgment and competitive nature of a team that had a shot at greatness but settled for pretty-goodness, and wondering about the momentum of all the others. We forget that NFL games do not happen as back-to-back-to-back events. They are self-encompassing. Winning and losing streaks exist, to be sure. But whether a team wins a game or not depends on plenty of variables, including talent, game planning, execution, weather conditions, venue, conditioning, and injuries. What happened last week has little bearing on anything this week, besides team confidence. Players and coaches always preach about taking it one game at a time, having a short memory, moving on after a win or loss, etc. In this sense, they are right - at least more right than when they cite momentum as a factor. If momentum were truly so important, then teams would not be battling for a first-round bye!
The Indianapolis Colts were smart to rest their starters the past couple of weeks insofar as it gives them a shot at a healthy run in the playoffs, which is far better than chasing the false promise of momentum. However! The Colts had an opportunity to make NFL history. At 14-0, with many of their wins achieved in come-from-behind fashion, the Colts (and we’re not sure whether it was coach Jim Caldwell, team president Bill Polian, or owner Jim Irsay) chose to sit their starters and not play to win. No doubt the team justifies the decision with its pursuit of the Lombardi trophy. Yet, every year one team wins the Super Bowl; only one team (1972 Dolphins) went undefeated (17-0) while doing it. No team has gone 19-0. Two years ago, when the New England Patriots lost their 19th and only game, we saw how difficult making history can be. It’s the dream of every athlete to be mentioned as the greatest among his peers. It’s the nature of any competitor to do what’s never been done before and may never be done again. The Colts decided that the status quo was good enough. Of course, fans and players will savor a championship, but they’ll always be saying, “We coulda been the best.” Now we’ll never know.