Why is MvcApplication.RegisterRoutes defined as static?

Question

I know this could be silly, but would like gurus to clarify it for me... Why is this method defined as static ..

public class MvcApplication : System.Web.HttpApplication
{
    /* Why this method is declared as static? */
    public static void RegisterRoutes(RouteCollection routes)
    {
        routes.IgnoreRoute("{resource}.axd/{*pathInfo}");

        routes.MapRoute(
            "Default",                                              // Route name
            "{controller}/{action}/{id}",                           // URL with parameters
            new { controller = "Home", action = "Index", id = "" }  // Parameter defaults
        );

    }

    protected void Application_Start()
    {
        RegisterRoutes(RouteTable.Routes);
    }
}

Answer 1

its static because it has no need to be a method directly related to instances of the class, but rather a method that can be used in a static context.

In other words, it only affects the parameter "routes", it doesn't use any class fields or members, so it makes sense it be made static.