The Power Of Momentum
According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, momentum is defined as, “strength or force gained by motion or by a series of events”. Across the nation momentum is heavily weighing into many different aspects of life with everything ranging from politics to sports.
I want to start with Donald Trump. President Trump was inaugurated on January 20th, 2017 and within 24 hours the world had broken out in protests. I was in London at the time of Trump’s inauguration but still felt the power of the opposition. People were ready to march and they did just that on January 21st. According to the women's march website, there were almost 700 sister cities participating in marches on that same day all across the country and the world. According to Time Magazine, in London, almost 100,000 people attended the Women’s march on London. With the march passing through Trafalgar Square and past the US Embassy, the strength and depth of the movement was evident. Because of social media, these marches quickly gained momentum as they spread overseas and all across the globe. Influence comes from many sources but I think that the primary source is other people. Everyone has an idol or mentor that they look up to. My mentors range from my parents to Michelle Obama, and when one of them passes an idea to I quickly gain passion for supporting and spreading it. This dissemination is momentum, and the women's march gained huge amounts of momentum.
On January 27th, 2017, Donald Trump placed an executive order on immigration for citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States for the next 90 days and suspended the admission of all refugees for 120 days. Almost immediately, the world saw another surge in protests and the momentum to express widespread disgrace with this ban. Almost immediately airports across the United States filled up with protesters holding signs and chanting about how all immigrants and refugees were welcome in this nation. The momentum to go out and protest and express one's ideas is powerful. If other people are doing it, others are inspired to go out and share their own opinions as this nation has witnessed over the past couple of weeks.
It is important to recognize how powerful momentum is in politics but also in sports. In order to highlight this even more I wanted to focus in more on Super Bowl 51. If I could summarize this game into one word I would use the word momentum. The first three quarters were all heavily in favor of the Falcons. At the end of the the third quarter, the Falcons were up 28-9 and the game seemed to be a complete blowout and over on all dimensions. This is wear momentum came into play, Tom Brady drove the Patriots down the field over and over again into a stunning overtime. The first drive of the overtime period resulted in a Patriots touchdown and the fate of both teams was sealed. A game that swung so heavily in favor of the Falcons for ¾ quarters was shattered in the final quarter through momentum built up by Tom Brady and his offense.
Momentum is so extremely powerful in all aspects of life it is always important to recognize the “strength or force gained by motion or by a series of events”.