A Basketball Arena and a Soccer Pitch Walk Into a Bar
The patrons flee in terror, because both of these inanimate objects are very big.
Howdy! Joey here, back for more Fun Fact Friyay. Put on your sneakers (or cleats) because we’re doing a bit of cardio.
An entire basketball court could fit comfortably inside of a soccer penalty box.
In my early childhood, I was among the best in my class at soccer. When you’re four years old, you’re mainly just running around aimlessly, and I had slightly better aim.
Then, around the age of five, I discovered basketball and gravitated more toward that sport.
The change stuck. I still play basketball to this day, and aside from kicking a rogue soccer ball back to a group—while silently repeating, “Please don’t miss and fall down”—I can’t remember the last time I was on the pitch.
That’s probably a good thing because soccer pitches are ENORMOUS. I don’t think I quite understood the gravity of how big they are whenever I’ve caught a game on TV.
I’ve even attended a live soccer match, and it still didn’t seem that big. To be fair, I was spending more time in the VIP food and drink lounge. Hey, if I forked over the dough for these tickets, I was taking advantage of them!
Anyway, both basketball games and soccer matches are wonderful to attend in person.
The length of a regulation basketball court is 94 feet long and 50 feet wide. Soccer is measured in yardage (or meters), and the penalty box is 44 yards (about 40.2 meters) long by 18 yards (about 16.5 meters) wide.
A little quick math gets us to 132 feet long by 54 feet wide. Not only would a full basketball court fit, you’d have ample room for courtside seating. Hopefully, that means Larry David wouldn’t trip and injure Shaq.
By the way, I did that math in my head, so I hope you’re impressed. If not, here’s a clip of Mike Byster, a mental math whiz who often visited my school when I was growing up (including when basketball was passing soccer in personal popularity), doing much more complicated math.