Momentum

If you ever sprinted as fast as you can, you know that to stop, you have to slow down first, otherwise your momentum will cause you to face plant and eat it. In sports, when a team or someone gets some momentum on their side, they are almost impossible to stop.

Real Madrid, winners of the Champions League in 2016 found themselves down 2-0 on aggregate to Wolfsburg in the round of 16. Real Madrid would need a miracle to overcome the deficit and win the game. They managed to score in the first 20 minutes, twice. After their goal, Wolfsburg couldn’t touch the ball or get a shot in goal. They can only watch in horror as wave after wave or relentless attacks came down upon them from the would be European Champions. Real Madrid would score again and win 3-2 on aggregate and move on in the tournament. Momentum on a team is a collective thing. Every player can feel it and it causes them to play much harder, sharper, and smarter. There is a sense of urgency to keep going and when a team feels like they can do it, when they feel as if they are making progress, they go harder.

Momentum in fencing is a beautiful thing to witness. I was down 12-3 once in a match and a bout goes to 15 touches. I thought to myself, “Wow its basically over, he needs only 3 more touches to my 12 to win.” My coach left me to lose to go focus on other fencers of his that were still going. I managed to grab a few consecutive consolation points that got me a little pumped up. I started to push harder and try new things that ended up working and I had a new game plan. The comeback was on. I was scoring touches everywhere in every way possible. My opponent was panicking, which only made things easier for me. I caught up to 13-13 and by then, there was no stopping me. I ended up winning the match 15-13 and my coach came back to find me victorious and we were both ecstatic. Momentum can be felt within the athlete. It is really hard to describe the feeling, but if you watch sports or play one, you know which side the momentum is on.

Just for fun. Momentum exists in video games. I SWEAR. Whenever I play FIFA online, the sense of momentum is there usually in the form of a comeback against me and I hate it. My opponent always has the ball and seems like he/she will always score. I desperately hang on to my lead some of the time but sometimes I just crumble and fall.

Thanks for reading,

PS. I love FIFA I had to throw that last paragraph in there.

Mohamed

2 thoughts on “Momentum”

  1. It’s so weird to think that just being on a roll can make a player continue on that role because of their mental state. It definitely shows how important our minds are to our bodies.

  2. That’s so impressive that you had that amazing come back. I definitely get what you mean about momentum. I wonder if anyone can cause themselves to have that momentum or if the situation has to create the mindset. Overall nice job

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