Dynasty, that’s a sports term that doesn’t get thrown around too much anymore. If you think about it, sports have always had dynasties, but now they are far less common. I often wonder if we will ever see one again. If you think about it, dynasties in sports have been present from the beginning. In baseball, the Red Sox had a dominant run from 1903 to 1918 where they won five of their championships. After that, it was pretty much all Yankees up until the late 60’s, and then there was a bit of a gap for a while until the 90’s when the Braves and Yankees both became the teams to beat for a while. But it wasn’t just baseball.
In basketball, the Lakers and Celtics pretty much alternated dynasty teams throughout the history of the game, until the Bulls finally stepped in as the only other team to make a significant run. Even the NFL had a few with the Steelers, 49ers, Cowboys, and of course, the last dynasty standing in sports, the New England Patriots.
So, what has happened in recent years that has prevented another dynasty from popping up? There have certainly been teams good enough to make these kinds of runs of success but so far, the Patriots have been the lone dynasty. And before anyone says, “well what about the San Francisco Giants.” Sure, they had a nice little five-year run where they won three World Series, but that was it. And the two years they didn’t win the World Series, they didn’t even make the playoffs. Not to mention that they were a wild card team in one of their winning years. A dynasty needs to win divisions consistently and be a playoff team for around ten years.
But back to the point. It may be that the increased salaries that players can make now combined with the ego’s these players get from their agents, has a contributing factor. When a team wins a championship, suddenly the players all think they deserve big money contracts, and obviously, with the salary caps, you can’t pay all those players the money they want. So, what happens, players jump ship to a team willing to pay or they get traded for younger players. Look at the Kansas City Royals. They looked like they had it all in place to be the next great team, they were all young good players in the prime of their careers. Now the team is selling off pieces left and right trying to rebuild once again. You can’t have a dynasty with selfish players. Look at Tom Brady, he has taken pay cuts for the good of the team over the years even though out of any player in the league, he deserves to be paid the most.
The only way to have a shot at a dynasty these days is to start it when your team is very young. Take the Cubs for example. They have a decent shot to be the next great team. Most of their star players are young guys who just made it to the majors and because of that, they can’t be free agents for a couple of years. If you want to build a dynasty, free agency must be avoided at all costs.
What about the Golden State Warriors, though? They have been to the finals two straight years and have the record for most wins in a season. Well, let’s see what the magic eight ball has to say. Ouch, outlook not so good. Now who knows how accurate those things really are, but all I know is Stephen Curry is a free agent next year and he’s going to want to get paid. I have no doubt he will stay in Golden State, but with all the money he will get, how will they afford to keep the other players. Durant can opt out of his contract next year and you know he wants a max deal. And with the lack of depth that team has just to afford the starters they have now, they might be willing to trade off Klay Thompson or Draymond Green down the road. I’m not saying it’s impossible for them to be a dynasty, but I just don’t see them lasting another eight years.
I could be wrong. Maybe the Warriors will stand the test of time, maybe the Cubs will be the next great baseball team. Who knows, maybe the Raiders will even be the next big thing in football. All I’m saying is, I don’t see it happening in the near future. Not unless players start taking less money, but let’s be real, if someone offered you 300 million dollars would you take less?
