The concept of momentum was developed around the 6th Century AD during attempts to understand and explain physics. It is used to describe a
force that an object possesses as a result of its mass and forward movement.
Seeing multiple disparate opinions here about its meaning in sports alerts me that what I thought was the common understanding -- that it was a mystical force which would work in the near future to advantage -- is not so common after all.
I use it in the classical sense, additional force that something possesses as a result of moving forward that it would not have standing still
Good ole Isaac Newton, I used to call him Ike.-- neither a suggestion, an advantage, initiative nor recent experience which induces confidence or an adrenaline rush.... actual force.
This may explain why everytime I walk down the lane and rest my ball against the headpin and stand back and wait...nothing f@#king happens.
I also don't buy "feeding off each other" as something that can be predicted, or even reasonably expected.
I never said it could be predicted or reasonably expected, only that it happens. If it can't be reliably expected to happen, IMO, it is reduced to an after-the-fact attempt to explain an unusual phenomenon
Absolutely.. Do two players both play unusually well more often when they are playing together than when the same two are playing in different groups? If we control for the fact that we are only likely to notice when they are playing together, and the ones we notice most are those near the top of the leader board -- indicating they have both already been playing well in previous rounds -- I don't think so.
Your mileage may vary.