Defining "Dynasty": Who Makes The Cut?

left;">It’s an admirable accomplishment to go back-to-back, but there’s an aspect of sustained excellence inherent to the idea of a sports dynasty that those teams didn’t have.  Two in a row without another can still fall in “flash in the pan” territory.  At least in the context of this argument.

As for the teams that are in the running, let’s um, run through them…

The Pittsburgh Steelers of the '70s—the original “Steel Curtain”—set the the standard for Super Bowl dominance.  Led by Terry Bradshaw, Lynn Swann and “Mean Joe” Greene, Pittsburgh won four out of six titles between 1975 and 1980, a mark that is still yet to be met.  Dynasty.

In the '80s, the San Francisco 49ers gave a solid encore performance to the Steel Curtain.  Behind the innovative and groundbreaking West coast offense instituted by Bill Walsh, Joe Montana and Jerry Rice’s 49ers snagged four Super Bowls in a nine-year span (1982-1990).  Included in that run was a back-to-back in ‘89 and '90, which solidified the Niner dynasty.

No other NFL franchise has won four titles in one era, but the Dallas Cowboys (’92, '93 and '95) and New England Patriots (’01, '03 and '04) have each gone three out of four.  Given the parity that started to take shape in the mid-90s and the establishment of a salary cap in 1994, it could be argued that the Cowboys and Patriots were actually the two most dominant teams in league history.  We’ll keep that on the back burner for now.

Jumping to MLB—which saw 14 different champions between 1975 and 1995—the only dynasty of the last 35 years is undisputed: the New York Yankees of the late 90s.  With great pitching and a young superstar named Derek Jeter, the Yankees won four out of five World Series between 1996 and 2000.  That seven different teams have won titles in the eight years since New York’s run only underscores how remarkable it was.

Finally to the NBA, which has been the most conducive to dynasties throughout the time period in question.  Let’s begin with the present, and a peculiar team that has heard the term thrown around in reference to it on more than one occasion.  That would be the San Antonio Spurs.

Since Tim Duncan’s sophomore campaign in 1998, the Spurs have won four of the 10 NBA titles to be contested.  They’ve won three of the last six, but all in odd years ('03, '05 and '07).

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