Why always basketball hoops?

[roseembolism]

    
One thing I've noticed in my perambulations around the local office parks is that every third building or so has a single basketball hoop standing forlornly above a stretch of bare concrete.  And I have to wonder why.  

It's not like you can get a real game going, as these areas are rarely more than a half court in size, usually only a quarter quart in length.  It can't be due to popular demand, as in all the time I've been noticing the courts, I've only twice seen one (the same one both times) actually being used.  The rest just sit vacant, the netting tattered by weathering, or missing entirely.  I see them as a testament to the folly of some manager, saying perhaps, "Hey, moral and fitness would be improved if we had sports...say, we can just put up a basketball hoop!"  No doubt he had plans for an inter-company league, one that would eventually expand outward to duel other start-ups and warehouses across the city.  And then he gets fired, or the startup collapses, leaving only the lonely basketball hoop behind.

Maybe it's because I don't see the joy in a basketball game played by myself, where I have to retrieve the ball after every shot.  Maybe I lack a vital organized sports gene.  In any case, it seems that the boxy sides of the building could be combined with the concrete expanse to give the employees a more active, more fun game, that could be played solo or in doubles.

That's right, I mean HANDBALL.

Just think of it- it's more aerobic than basketball, needs less preparation, and the balls could be kept in a desk drawer.  And best of all, as the balls go THUMPTHUMPTHUMP against the side of the building, the managers with the nearby offices could relax, knowing that the employees are getting exercise, thereby lowering the company's expenses.
 
Sounds like a win-win thing, right?  Anybody got a ball I can borrow?

Comments

[fintach.livejournal.com]

Why basketball hoops in office parks? I suspect the Dot-Com era, when employers were putting in pool tables, air hockey, Foosball and the like to make themselves seem more hip and employee-friendly.

As for the question of what good is a half court? That I can answer. For a good percentage of my life, my main exercise came from pick-up basketball. A half court was good enough for anything from one-on-one to four-on-four, including horse, around the world, and 21. In fact, most pick-up games only use a half court, even if a full court is available.

And for just one player, in those days I could easily spend a half-hour or an hour practicing by myself, even just shooting baskets as a sort of Zen exercise, giving my body something to do while I thought. Heck, I still do that once in a while.

Do you think people would actually play handball if the court was available? I had the impression that in corporate America these days, no one wanted to be seen as playing when there was work to be done.

[devonapple.livejournal.com]

Significant return on a minimal investment, depending on the work culture.

[etoilenoir959.livejournal.com]

I say Nurf tag!