End of the Dynasty?

After a weekend of watching several great football and baseball games, I started to notice a few behind the scene things that don’t catch the common eye. The MLB race for October has hit full speed, with many teams fighting for division leads, playoff spots, and home field advantage. As a young sports fan, dynasties have not ruled the sports world like teams did in the 90’s and before. No team has won three out of four Super Bowls like the Dallas Cowboys or six NBA championships like Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. Baseball, a sport historically dominated by the New York Yankees, has failed to establish a power over the last decade. College football, as many know, has been constantly blanketed with negative feedback with the current Bowl Championship Series, known as the BCS. Critics complain that the current system doesn’t properly allow the best team to be crowned champion, resulting in a soon to come playoff system. These things may seem to lack importance in many eyes, but for me it raised some questions. Are sports finally reaching a point where the playing field is becoming much more equal? Could the days of franchise supremacy and multi-title holding superstars be coming to an end? LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and Tom Brady may argue this is not true, but let’s look back and decide for ourselves. In the last ten years, the NBA and college football have each had six different crowned champions. The San Antonio Spurs lead the charge with three championships, the closest to a dynasty in all sports. Three college football programs have held the trophy high multiple times after the final whistle, including Alabama, LSU, and Florida. Those numbers seem distributed almost perfectly, but the NFL and MLB may have something to say about that. Each of these leagues has presented seven different champions over the last decade, something that almost proves their sports are on the way to complete equality. Many argue baseball is not fair, however looking at the facts may change your mind. The New York Yankees have been known from the beginning as the deep pocket dominators in a sport deemed “America’s pastime”. With that said, they have only won ONE World Series Championship in the last ten years. Only the St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Red Sox have achieved multiple championships, winning two each. Switching to the NFL, the New England Patriots looked to be our next dynasty, but the New York Giants have defeated them twice in Super Bowls, leaving the Patriots, Pittsburg Steelers, and Giants all winning two titles this decade. Colin Cowherd of ESPN has said multiple times that dynasties and villains are good for the game. He says more people will watch hoping for the “bad guys” to lose. I must respectfully disagree with Mr. Cowherd, because I firmly believe a sport is at its best when every team has a chance to contend with a month left in the season. Baseball fans are lying if they say they don’t check the wild card standings immediately after seeing how their respective team did each night. NFC East fans can’t say with a straight face they haven’t noticed how competitive their division is beginning to look this season. Nothing builds a fan base like a contending team and magical playoff run. The last ten years have moved each sport in the correct direction. Before we know it, TCU will be crowned king of college football and the Pittsburg Pirates will be facing the Seattle Mariners for a World Series Championship. Follow me on Twitter @DFWsportscreed Edited by Keith Walterscheid, Dustin Hughes, and Aaron Walterscheid