Professional baseball player demonstrating a .3mcg/dl drop in momentum |
"We've suspected that relative momentum levels are a major determinant in 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. This is why we do the study."
The study, which employed a retrospective analysis of momentum levels in competing teams and individual participants in nearly 200 sporting events, looked specifically at the role of momentum loss in both performance and outcome. They found that teams suffering momentorrhagia 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 template for scientific examination of sports anecdotes in the future. "We took a Bayesian approach, reevaluating momentum levels in light of the outcome. It's a more complicated way of interpreting the data, but ultimately much more satisfying."
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