ESPN Graphic Puts Brazil-Germany Rout Into Shocking Perspective (Photo)

If you tuned in to Germany’s 7-1 dismantling of Brazil in the 2014 FIFA World Cup semifinals on Tuesday, you probably knew you were witnessing history.

The full impact of that rout, however, may be difficult to fathom for the average American sports fan, so the folks in ESPN’s Stats and Info department attempted to put things in perspective by calculating what seven World Cup goals would mean when translated to the U.S.’s Big Four sports.

[tweet https://twitter.com/ESPNStatsInfo/status/486909407536881664 align=’center’]

The numbers are shocking to say the least, as no NFL or NBA team has approached the same stratosphere as those projections (the NFL record for most points in a game is 72, while the NBA record is 186).

We’re not sure how ESPN came about those numbers, but if you’re skeptical, the writers at FiveThirtyEight.com can offer some slightly more sound perspective.

Using the standard deviations of scoring margins while considering the evenness of the matchup, Germany’s six-goal victory was the rough equivalent of beating an NFL team by 50 more points than expected or defeating an NBA team by 43 more points than expected.

Any way you look at it, though, Germany’s 7-1 blowout was truly incredible, and more than enough to make Brazil very, very sad.