What constitutes a sports dynasty?

Answer 1

I think this is one of the most miss-used and over-used phrases. A dynasty, by definition, is a ruling party or family that maintains control during a succession of different leaders. Even if a king rules for 80 years, if he is not replaced (or replacing) a family member, there is no dynasty.

In sports, everyone starts talking dynasty when a team wins two, sometimes three titles over a short time period. However, when that happens, the team usually has the same coach and set of core players, so it's not really a dynasty, it's just a good run.

It's reasonable to say a team doesn't need to win championships every year to be a dynasty, I could go for that. But if a team isn't successful over a period of time where it goes through a succession of key players and coaches, I don't think it should be called a dynasty.

The 80s to mid-90s 49ers, for example, can fairly be called a dynasty because they consistenty won division titles nearly every year and won several league titles despite changing coaches, quarterbacks, and a ton of other players. Jerry Rice wasn't on their first championship team and Joe Montana wasn't on their last!

The 70s Steelers, however, while changing a few players between '74 and '80, kept nearly their entire coaching staff and almost every key player intact for the entire run. While it is one of the most impressive runs by any football team at any level, it was not a dynasty.

The Braves from 1992-2005, despite only winning one World Series, won their division title every year, and went through a crazy succession of players during that time. I would say they were only a borderline dynasty, however, because Bobby Cox was in place for the entire run. Still, winning that long while having a 100% turnover in your roster is pretty impressive.

That's just my two cents, I hope it makes sense.

Answer 2

Having won the most big trophies in your league (as in the New York Yankees and the Montréal Canadiens) I would also tend to add the Stealers (of the Bradshaw era in the NFL and the Cowboys of the 70s).