Do modern times require larger fields?

[Hammer Pants]

I was just skimming the College Basketball II thread and started wondering again whether modern sports, especially football and basketball, need larger fields. Players like Dirk Nowitzski and KG and Kevin Durant are becoming less unique, and football players at every position are unbelievably huge. I think it's completely logical to at least consider widening and lengthening football fields and basketball courts. Wouldn't it naturally beautify both sports, or at least unclog the playing fields?

As kids get older, the size of both the playing field and the ball (and the goal height in basketball) all grow ... wouldn't it make sense to consider the same for today's year-round trained, chemically-altered athletes?

I've spoken with several college coaches who wouldn't mind larger fields, and a few of them said it needs to happen soon. I'm not sure it has to happen, but don't we have to at least consider it at this point?

 

[markvid]

I wish the NHL would go to international ice size, but it'd mean losing seats in arenas.

 

[Guy_Incognito]

I wish the NHL would go to international ice size, but it'd mean losing seats in arenas.

So?

 

[markvid]

Revenue goes down.
Never happen, then.

 

[alleyallen]

I wish the NHL would go to international ice size, but it'd mean losing seats in arenas.

So?

Do you say that out of a dislike for hockey or because you think owners should suck up the revenue loss to make for a more open game?

 

[markvid]

I see his point, but I think that's the only thing that would hold this up.

 

[alleyallen]

I see his point, but I think that's the only thing that would hold this up.

I don't doubt the potential of the point. I'm just wondering if it's being offered because he doesn't care about hockey. Don't know Guy all that well, to be honest. Which is why I asked.

 

[statrat]

Basketball needs to go to the international key...and eliminate that damn "no charging" circle in the NBA.

 

[Guy_Incognito]

I see his point, but I think that's the only thing that would hold this up.

I don't doubt the potential of the point. I'm just wondering if it's being offered because he doesn't care about hockey. Don't know Guy all that well, to be honest. Which is why I asked.

Sorry, neither. It was a apparently poorly executed crack about empty hockey arenas. Ignore me.

 

[expendable]

Why do I feel like I'm watching an All-Sport commercial from ten years ago?

Keep the fields, courts, rinks as they are. No need for them to be Tiger-proofed.

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

Football -- hardly.

Basketball -- doubtful. No reason to change an entire sport to cater to a hundred NBA giants.

 

[mpcincal]

For basketball, this isn't a new idea. Sport Illustrated's 1986 preview issue had a story on the "incredible shrinking court" with Walton, McHale and another Celtic whose identity escapes me posed towering over a miniaturized court. For you Met fans, that was the issue with Ray Knight on the cover.

 

[Guy_Incognito]

Basketball -- doubtful. No reason to change an entire sport to cater to a hundred NBA giants.

I think this is the best case. It's not just 100 giants, the forwards & guards are bigger too. I'd love to see some experimental exhibition games with 11 foot rims.

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

For basketball, this isn't a new idea. Sport Illustrated's 1986 preview issue had a story on the "incredible shrinking court" with Walton, McHale and another Celtic whose identity escapes me posed towering over a miniaturized court. For you Met fans, that was the issue with Ray Knight on the cover.

Believe it or not, the average height in the NBA has barely changed since then. This year the average height of 6.698 inches is actually about as short as they've been in 20 years.

Back in Wilt Chamberlain's day, 6-7 was about the average height of an NBA center. Now that's your average player.

 

[Starman]

Basketball -- doubtful. No reason to change an entire sport to cater to a hundred NBA giants.

I think this is the best case. It's not just 100 giants, the forwards & guards are bigger too. I'd love to see some experimental exhibition games with 11 foot rims.

Go watch a bad junior high game, you can see a rough approximation of what it would be like.

In 1970, Tennessee played an intersquad game with (IIRC) 3.5-meter rims (11'5") instead of the normal 10'0". The final score (in an era when college teams averaged about 70-75 ppg) was 40-36. The teams shot in the high 20s from the field.

Bring in 11-foot rims with the Bad Boys-style clock-milking sludge-ball which has suffocated the sport over the last 20 years, and you'd have final scores of 21-17.

 

[statrat]

Basketball -- doubtful. No reason to change an entire sport to cater to a hundred NBA giants.

I think this is the best case. It's not just 100 giants, the forwards & guards are bigger too. I'd love to see some experimental exhibition games with 11 foot rims.

There was actually an exhibition game with 11-foot hoops at Hec Ed Arena in Seattle last year:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sports/2003747066_elevenfoot14.html?syndication=rss

 

[Pete Incaviglia]

Basketball needs to go to the international key...and eliminate that damn "no charging" circle in the NBA.

Also, it'd be great to see NBA players play the ball above the cylinder.

 

[mike311gd]

I see his point, but I think that's the only thing that would hold this up.

I don't doubt the potential of the point. I'm just wondering if it's being offered because he doesn't care about hockey. Don't know Guy all that well, to be honest. Which is why I asked.

Sorry, neither. It was a apparently poorly executed crack about empty hockey arenas. Ignore me.

If it makes you feel better, Guy, I laughed.

 

[CollegeJournalist]

I see his point, but I think that's the only thing that would hold this up.

I don't doubt the potential of the point. I'm just wondering if it's being offered because he doesn't care about hockey. Don't know Guy all that well, to be honest. Which is why I asked.

Sorry, neither. It was a apparently poorly executed crack about empty hockey arenas. Ignore me.

If it makes you feel better, Guy, I laughed.

Me too.

 

[Rex Harrison]

Let's move the wall back another 200 feet and watch the HR numbers drop.