Big Mo can make Giant difference

It's official: I'm a believer.

I finally have accepted the Theory of Big Mo.

It takes serious trust to think there is such a thing as psychological momentum in sports, a blind faith of sorts that looks beyond data and agrees that what we can't see or prove or measure in some statistical formula plays a part in which team wins.

Momentum is defined as "the impetus and driving force gained by the development of a process or course of events."

Yeah. I'll just stick with the San Francisco Giants.

They became the latest world champions to prove true the idea that while the concept of rest might seem appealing for those teams who have earned it, the reality of having to survive and advance is a far bigger advantage.

It happened to the Giants in sweeping Detroit for a World Series title and the New York Giants as a wild-card team that won the Super Bowl last season and the Packers as a wild card the previous season and to several other teams thought dead during a regular season only to rise and rule during the playoffs.

It's an attitude developed over time and through many struggles.

The Giants were down 2-0 to Cincinnati in their National League division series, when their fans spent the final minutes of Game 2 shaking the hands of the ushers and wishing them the best until next season arrives.

The Giants also were down 3-1 to St. Louis in the NL Championship Series.

They had to win six elimination games even to make the World Series.

The Tigers? They needed five games to beat Oakland in their American League division series but then swept the Yankees in the ALCS, meaning Detroit hadn't played in nearly a week before meeting San Francisco in Game 1.

Some of the edge gets lost. A lot of timing, too. You can't manufacture things like intensity and perseverance in team workouts or intrasquad scrimmages. The time off might allow some players to heal from injuries, but it doesn't sharpen the focus needed to win a championship.

It's the same with having to win your way into the playoffs.

Two years ago, Green Bay had to win its final two games of the regular season to qualify as the No. 6 seed in the NFC, momentum that allowed it to win three road playoff games before defeating the Steelers in Super Bowl XLV.

Last year, the Giants were 7-7 before beating the Jets and Cowboys, qualifying for the postseason and winning three games - two on the road - before a Super Bowl matchup with the Patriots.

Teams grow a thick skin when their backs are constantly shoved against a wall. They grab onto this idea that resiliency offers them an upper hand against an opponent whose journey wasn't as taxing.

They don't have time to think in a long-term fashion, to overanalyze matchups or strategy. They just keep going, day by day, week by week, pitch by pitch, tackle by tackle, survival win by survival win.

For the longest time, I viewed momentum as some random course of events that never held the importance others felt. I thought it more false sense of confidence than any real factor able to alter the outcome of games. I never bought into the idea that it could change performance on a given night, much less during a best-of-7 series.

Not now. The evidence keeps mounting.

It even is reflected in sports gaming, where bookmakers at times consider how a team reaches the doorstep of a championship when setting odds.

"I am of the new way of doing things," said Jimmy Vaccaro, director of public relations for William Hill sports books. "Twenty-five years ago, you just set the line depending on what the cold, hard number you thought it should be. But more and more now, it's about momentum of teams. I think playing is better than resting for teams.

"It's like any wild-card team in football. They have nothing to lose. In some ways, many think they shouldn't be there in the first place. When the Giants came back in the final game last year to beat the Cowboys and make the playoffs, my little brain said, 'I'm going to beat (other books) to the first number,' because this team is coming in with some momentum.

"In the case of (San Francisco) winning the World Series this year, everyone was focusing on the Tigers. But we opened the series a little lower than others because of the momentum coming in for San Francisco."

It makes too much sense to ignore.

The Big Mo lives and breathes, in our hearts and apparently wallets, especially with teams that have to work the hardest for a championship.

Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ed Graney can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618. He can be heard from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday on "Gridlock," ESPN 1100 and 98.9 FM. Follow him on Twitter: @edgraney.