Compare Blender from what it was to what it is now, how fast it's grown, that alone is indication of the momentum.

You may not be aware of this but Blender is over 19 years old, literally older then both MAX and Maya. In fact Blender started life as a commercial product that failed miserably and so they decided to make it free. If in all this time it hasn't managed to become any kind of standard, it is very likely that it wont in the future either.