SPORT and momentum. The two go together like peas and carrots (with thanks to Forrest Gump).
The dynamic between the two is something I had always sort of known existed, but had never truly seen demonstrated.
That was until a recent encounter with a relatively unfamiliar sport: tennis. It was never a chosen sport of mine. I never seemed to quite grasp the necessary skills of a top liner, nor did white suit my frame as a junior.
The revelation came when I was watching Lleyton Hewitt tackle Radek Stepenak in his fourth round match at Wimbledon and seeing highlights of the same round tussle between Andy Murray and Stanislas Wawrinka.
Sport and momentum go hand in hand.
Take the Hewitt match as example one. Stepenak hopped out to a fast lead, winning 12 of the first 18 games and taking the first two sets. It seemed he had total control. Lleyton’s dream run looked as though it had come to an end. However, the little Aussie battler then began to slowly assert himself on the contest and turn the tables.
He was triumphant in 18 of the next 23 games, winning the match in trademark five-set style.
Example two displayed more ebb and flow, but very similar momentum shifts. With the entire weight of Great Britain on his shoulders, Murray was involved in a see-sawing five-setter with Wawrinka. The victor, Murray, won only 25 of the 47 games played, leaving the fans continually guessing which way the result would go.
Football is no different. It seems as though the game today is almost exclusively about momentum – making the most of it when you have it (scoring heavily), and minimising the damage when the opposition does (restricting heavy scoring).
In the modern game I believe we are now seeing more momentum shifts than ever.
It seems not that long ago when a team which had gained an early advantage on the scoreboard would retain control of the game until the final siren. Think Essendon circa 2000. Actually, think any team that took control of the game early before 2000.
Only Geelong and St Kilda, who meet this weekend, could argue that they have mirrored that kind of form. But even they have done so with more noticeable momentum shifts within their games over the first 13 rounds.
Watching Wimbledon and relating the momentum shifts to football got me thinking of other sports and whether there is a resemblance. In doing so, and liking geography, the upcoming Ashes series in England came to mind immediately.
It is another perfect example of momentum and its effect on sport. You may see it in an over, an hour, a session, a day, between the five days, or between Tests within a series.
It’s everywhere you look.
Here’s hoping our boys have it more than those Poms, and Lleyton plays on long into the future!
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
