For those familiar with the subject matter, context comes second nature.
In the realm of Asian football, it is easy to immediately identify the likes of Japan, South Korea, Iran and Saudi Arabia as powerhouses. At the other end of the spectrum, one would not be expecting, with all due respect, the likes of Guam or Sri Lanka to be lifting the AFC Asian Cup anytime soon.
Still, a lot of that remains subjective, even if it is based on past knowledge and expertise. Perhaps an attempt at a mathematical or scientific explanation will paint the most accurate picture.
So, given all that has been made about the unheralded Lion City Sailors' remarkable run to the AFC Champions League Two final, just how significant is it that a club from Singapore has made it to the decider of the continent's second-tier competition?
And -- given European football remains most familiar to the majority of fans -- to help understand the magnitude of the achievement further, what would its equivalent be on the UEFA stage?
ACL Two = Europa League
The first part of the comparison is fairly straightforward. As the second-tier club competition, the ACL Two's European equivalent is the Europa League.
The only difference is that, while the Europa League also switched to a league stage this season, the ACL Two continues to employ a 32-team group stage even though the top-level AFC Champions League Elite has gone down the former path.
Not a perfect comparison
Before going any further, there is a need to acknowledge that this is, by no means, a flawless comparison.
For a variety of factors, there will be an element of false equivalence.
Firstly, the aforementioned difference in competition format means that, while teams in the Europa League have the potential to face almost any opponents based on the luck of the draw, there is still zonal segregation in the ACL Two -- keeping East and West regions' teams apart until the final.
There is some sentiment that there is a considerable difference in the level of competitiveness between the regions.
If all results this season (even matches that were subsequently forfeited) are considered, the 57 West region matches were decided by an average winning margin of 1.3 goals -- with a total of 75 goals being scored.
Only on four occasions did a team win by more than three goals.
In the East, there was a far higher tally of 113 goals from 62 matches with the average winning margin rising to 1.8 goals.
On eight occasions were there a winning margin greater than three goals, with the biggest being Muangthong United's 9-2 rout of DH Cebu.
Even in the quarterfinals, Sanfrecce Hiroshima proved to be far superior to the Sailors as they claimed a 6-1 first-leg win -- only for the costly fielding of an ineligible player to result in the tie being overturned and paving the way for the Singapore Premier League outfit to progress.
It must also be considered that the difference in quality between UEFA nations is likely to be less than in the AFC, especially given eight of the top ten teams in the FIFA world rankings hail from Europe.
With the disclaimers out of the way, let us proceed with an imaginative-if-imperfect illustration of how the Sailors' achievement translates to UEFA competition.
Are Singapore Asian football's Bulgaria?
Being ranked 31st out of the AFC's 47 member associations at present puts Singapore in the 34th percentile.
The equivalent to that from UEFA's 55 member associations would roughly be its 38th-ranked nation -- currently Bulgaria.
Even just by casually picking Bulgaria's most-famous club, CSKA Sofia winning the Europa League in this day and age would cause quite a stir.
Still, it should not be forgotten that Bulgarian football is a curious case given it does have significant history even if it has fallen some way.
After all, CSKA Sofia were European Cup semifinalists twice in the pre-UEFA Champions League era. Five of their compatriots have also reached at least a quarterfinal, be it in the Europa League (dating back to the UEFA Cup) or the now-defunct UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.
Maybe Singaporean football should not be compared to a nation that once genuinely punched above its weight in the days of Hristo Stoichkov, who even helped them to fourth place at the 1994 FIFA World Cup.
So what are some better comparisons?
Imagine HJK one step from winning the Europa League
Let's say we don't look further down the list but go the opposite direction instead and use some nations currently above Bulgaria in the world rankings.
Albania. North Macedonia. Georgia. The average football supporter might struggle to name a club from any of these countries, so imagine if one reached the Europa League final. (For educational purposes, KF Tirana, FK Vardar and Dinamo Tblisi are the most-successful teams from those nations respectively).
Finland does have a club that comes to mind: HJK Helsinki (although that could be solely on a personal level from hours spent on Football Manager day after day, year after year). Them being one step away from lifting continental silverware would also be quite a story.
Iceland, two spots above Bulgaria, are another interesting one given that when they qualified for the World Cup back in 2018, there was plenty of conversation -- even in Singapore -- around what an achievement it was from a nation of just over 389,000.
The Straits Times, Singapore's sole English-language broadsheet, even ran a commentary comparing the two considering how the country's reality of being a small island nation has often been used as a reason for a lack of sporting success.
Singapore are still some way from emulating Iceland in reaching the World Cup.
But make no mistake that what the Sailors have already achieved is a massive achievement.
Just how massive? Simply imagine HJK -- or Tirana, Vardar or Dinamo Tblisi for that matter -- reaching the Europa League final.