Garbage time during 4th quarter of an already settled football match, the previously full stadium is now half-full and the substitutes are on the field.

Garbage time, also known as Junk time, is a term used in American sports (most commonly, football and basketball) parlance to refer to the period of time at the end of a timed sporting event when the outcome of the game has already been decided, and the coaches of one or both teams will decide to replace their best players with substitutes. This serves to give those substitutes playing time experience in an actual game situation, as well as to protect the best players from the possibility of injury. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1600x1200, 618 KB) Garbage time during the waning minutes of the September 2, 2006 match between the USC Trojans and Arkansas Razorbacks: although Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium featured the largest crowd ever in attendence (76,500), the stadium emptied out... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1600x1200, 618 KB) Garbage time during the waning minutes of the September 2, 2006 match between the USC Trojans and Arkansas Razorbacks: although Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium featured the largest crowd ever in attendence (76,500), the stadium emptied out... United States simply as football, is a competitive team sport that is both fast-paced and strategic. ... Sara Giauro shoots a three-point shot, FIBA Europe Cup for Women Finals 2005. ...

Garbage time owes its name to the fact that that period in a game is frequently marked by a significant drop in the quality of game play. This occurs for two primary reasons. Firstly, the players involved during that time are generally less talented. And secondly, the fact that seldom-used substitutes usually desire more future playing time means that when those players do play, they are often more concerned with making an individual impression than with executing team play at its best; this is especially true during garbage time because at that point, the matter of which team will win has already been decided anyway.