They’re no Dynasty… yet!
It’s popular to characterize sustained dominance as a… Dynasty. There are few things that we appreciate more than sustainability- with good reason. Sustained excellence in any endeavor especially professional sports requires many of the characteristics that are esteemed in our culture: dedication, perseverance, sacrifice, team buy-in, selflessness… you get the idea. Although we are at times desperate to award the distinction of dynasty, we can’t change the status or lower the bar on what the factor that determines what establishes a true “dynasty” vs a “successful era”. That factor is GENERATION. A true dynasty must expand an era and extend through generations. Also, the stars that build the dynasty take a secondary position to the fierce love or hate for the Franchise. By that standard, although tremendously successful, the New England Patriots (as the Chicago Bulls of the 90’s) are not a dynasty. I know this may sound contrarian but hear me out.
Generational love and hate
There are only a handful of sports team that have the fortunate history of sustained success over generations. Immediate franchises that come to mind are: Dallas Cowboys, Pittsburgh Steelers, Boston Celtics, L.A. Lakers, Green Bay Packers, San Francisco 49ers, Washington Football team, and N. Y. Yankees. There’s a consistent theme that follows these franchises and that’s Generational love and hate. Why is that? It’s well established that (aside for regional proximity) children typically gravitate to whatever team is consistently winning between the ages of 7 and 11. It’s possible that a parent can pass down their admiration for a particular team but it most certainly helps if that team is winning. The aforementioned teams have been able to not only be “winning” during the indoctrination period of the first generation, in many instances, they have been “winning” during the impressionable ages in which the second generation is open to making their allegiances. Thus allowing the love to spread generationally from parent to offspring.
Conversely, for love to exist there has to be an equal amount of hate for balance sake, the ying to the yang. So, while these generational franchises are being successful, there are an equal amount of fans praying for their downfall. This generational hate is as entrenched as the love side. It’s why these true dynasties are “must- see” T.V. if they’re the least bit competitive. Generational love and hate has been built up to the point that you’re watching, vested in their winning or losing. It’s why the aforementioned teams can command primetime slots even when they may not be in contention, and Lord help us if they’re actually good. These teams will receive preference in T.V. scheduling and your Nighttime football, baseball, or basketball viewing of these teams will be inescapable. It’s no secret that the NFL and the NBA would be equally content if the Steelers vs the Cowboys or the Lakers vs the Celtics could be their matchup in championship contention with regularity. The generational love and hate has national appeal and everyone has either someone they’d love to see win or lose.
Generation and multiple eras
Another consistent theme in dynasty distinction are multiple eras. If you examine the Cowboys, the Steelers, 49ers, Celtics, Lakers, et al, you notice that success has transcended eras. The Landry era to the Jimmy Johnson era to the Barry Switzer era (won one Superbowl). The Chuck Knoll era to the Bill Cowher era to the Mike Tomlison era. The Bill Walsh era to the George Seifert with Steve Young era. The Bill Russell years to the Larry Bird years to the Big three years (Celtics). The Wilt Chamberlain years to the Showtime era to the Shaq/ Kobe era (Lakers)… the Love or Hate dynamic has had generations to build. Also the love or hate has transcended the players and is firmly established with the identity of the team. Let’s be honest, you likely didn’t truly hate or love the Bulls, you loved or hated Jordan. Once Jordan retired the Bulls were back to the relatively common city/ region fandom as most teams without dynasty pedigree. Once Belicheck and Brady hang up their clip boards and cleats, The Patriots will revert back to the same afterthought of the Boston Red Sox as other New England regional sport teams. That’s not a dynasty.
There is however one caveat regarding the Patriots run, though. It has encompassed nearly twenty years. So, it is possible that the love/ hate dynamic has captured multiple generations. Could be. As with most test, time provides the best evaluation. Should there still be interest in the Pats after the Belicheck/ Brady era, they will have incredibly crossed that rare threshold to “dynasty” top of mind. I strongly suspect that they won’t. You and I will still be consumed with loving or loving to hate the dynasty franchises that hog the bulk of our primetime sports scheduling: the Yankees, Dallas Cowboys, and Lakers… Patriots who? Oh you mean Belicheck and Brady.