In American journalistic parlance, the Football field is a unit of length equal to 100 yards, which is used to give approximate measurements of the sizes of large objects.
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Origin
The game of American football, at the college and professional levels, is played on a rectangular field that measures 120 yards along its longest side. Of that 120 yards, 10 yards on each end comprise the end zones; it's the distance between these end zones, 100 yards, that's of greatest interest to the participants.
Usage
The use of the football field as a unit of length usually occurs in circumstances where the author wishes to impress the reader with how large an object is. For example, in an article about naval war ships, the author might say "A modern aircraft carrier is the length of 5 football fields."
Some observed occurrences
- Agents Discover American-Mexico Tunnel Length Of Eight Football Fields
- Clear tower favorite: Jury gives nod to one Transbay terminal plan ("... elevated park the length of five football fields.")
- http://www.think-metric.com/length.html ("One kilometer ... is about ... the length of 11 football fields.")
Observed occurrences as a unit of area
Although the football field usually appears as a unit of length, its area of 5330 square yards (6396 if you include the end zones) is also occasionally used in print for similar effect:
