74 What Makes a Dynasty?

Sports fans love to discuss dynasties—teams that did so well for so long that while they were successful they seemed almost to own their sport. They don't necessarily have to win the World Series or Super Bowl or NBA title every single year. But in those few years they don't win, they must come pretty close.

Who were some of the great sports dynasties? Certainly the New York Yankees in the 1920s, when Babe Ruth was playing. (The Yankees also had a dynasty in the ’50s and ’60s, with stars like Yogi Berra and Mickey Mantle.) There were also the Boston Celtics, who dominated professional basketball from the late 1950s all the way through the ’60s, and the Chicago Bulls, who owned the sport in the 1990s. The Green Bay Packers pretty much dominated football in the ’60s, in the Vince Lombardi years. In hockey, the Montreal Canadiens were the team to beat through much of the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s.

Beyond that, calling any team a dynasty gets a little dicey. For instance, Pittsburgh, Dallas, and San Francisco have each played in, and won, several Super Bowls. But have any of these teams dominated football for an extended period? Do the New York Islanders’ four consecutive Stanley Cups in the early 1980s make them a hockey dynasty for that period? Questions like these don't have hard and fast answers. What you think depends, to a large extent, on where you live and which teams you support. But that is what makes sports interesting.

74 什么是体育王朝？

体育迷们喜欢讨论“王朝球队”——那些长期表现出色、在巅峰时期几乎掌控了所属项目的队伍。它们不一定每年都要赢得世界大赛、超级碗或NBA总冠军，但在没夺冠的那几年，成绩也得相当接近冠军水准。

有哪些伟大的体育王朝球队呢？20世纪20年代贝比·鲁斯效力时期的纽约扬基队肯定算一个（扬基队在50、60年代也有王朝时期，拥有尤吉·贝拉、米基·曼托等球星）。还有波士顿凯尔特人队，他们从20世纪50年代末到60年代一直统治着职业篮球；以及20世纪90年代称霸篮坛的芝加哥公牛队。在文斯·隆巴迪执教的60年代，绿湾包装工队基本统治了橄榄球赛场。冰球领域，蒙特利尔加拿大队在50、60、70年代的大部分时间里都是其他球队难以击败的存在。

除此之外，称任何一支球队为王朝就有点棘手了。比如匹兹堡、达拉斯和旧金山的球队都曾多次打进并赢得超级碗，但这些球队有哪支长期统治过橄榄球赛场吗？20世纪80年代初纽约岛人队连续四次夺得斯坦利杯，这能让他们成为那个时期的冰球王朝吗？这类问题没有明确的答案，你的看法在很大程度上取决于你住在哪里、支持哪支球队。但这也正是体育的有趣之处。