The significance of composure and adrenaline in football
Confession: I've played on a real football team. I'm actually almost completely unfamiliar with the game from a participant's perspective. I've pretty much exclusively competed in endurance sports where if you're considerably better and half decently mentally prepared you will win, barring terrible, terrible luck or an act of God.
So for the people who know the emotional side of the game: how much does a goal line stand like Illinois' really matter? How long does that sort of adrenaline carry over? Can the breakdowns that happened afterward be blamed on us losing our composure and Illinois being pumped or do the problem run deeper*? Do these types of things affect both sides of the ball equally?
*Obviously I know we have big, big, problems on defense. The question is if the difference between our first half performance defensively versus our second half can be entirely blamed on us losing our composure.
November 5th, 2009 at 8:16 AM ^
I never played football either, but I don't think it's at all unique in this respect. I think your mental state plays a HUGE role in your performance - it allows your subconscious to take over all those things you've practiced repeatedly - and the right frame of mind will allow you to outperform your own talent.
But neither can you just put yourself in that frame of mind - the circumstances have to be right for it. So yes, a goal-line stand like that probably does have a major effect.
November 5th, 2009 at 10:12 AM ^
Mental state is HUGE. I have played and now coach, and it's amazing/frustrating to see how momentum shifts so quickly. I think Molk's injury in the PSU game and the goal line stand can both explain how the wheels fell off the bus.
November 5th, 2009 at 10:34 AM ^
"Champions aren't made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them: A desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have last-minute stamina, they have to be a little faster, they have to have the skill and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill."
Muhammad Ali