Dynasty (sports)

Dynasty (sports)

A sports dynasty is a team that dominates their sport or league for multiple seasons or years. Such dominance is often only realized in retrospect. Some leagues maintain official lists of dynasties, often as part of a hall of fame (e.g., National Hockey League), but in many cases, whether a team has achieved a dynasty is often subjective, and can be a frequent topic of debate among sports fans. The most widely-accepted sports dynasties are those with multiple championships over a limited period of time, either consecutively with or without interruption (e.g., UCLA Bruins men's basketball from 1964 to 1975), or non-consecutively (e.g., Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders of the late 1970s and early 1980s, or the Liverpool football team of the 1980s). In a few cases, a dominant team without championships might be recognized as a dynasty (e.g., the Buffalo Bills of the early 1990s or the Minnesota Vikings of the 1970s), though this is likely to be disputed.