One of the great debates of sports is whether people prefer when there are dominant dynasties or when there is parity.
What do you guys prefer to see? (Most of you are used to seeing dynasties- either of your team or others, so I'll be interested to see what your responses are)
I'll make a case for and against each one:
The case for dynasties
It gives everyone else a dominant team to shoot for- i.e. 'the team to beat.'
The idea of David vs. Goliath
It's sometimes good to see greatness on a regular and consistent basis- excellence in athletics by a model franchise/team
The case against dynasties
Sometimes, there is such a thing as being too dominant. Watching college hoops in the late 1960s to the mid 1970s with UCLA winning all the time must not have been easy for fans of other teams.
When one team wins all the time, it can get tiresome for those that aren't fans of that team. When the Yankees won 20 World Series in 40 years from 1923-1962, it was not easy to be a fan of other American League teams. (Then again, there was no playoff format back then.)
It can sometimes make a seasons too predictable. For decades, people always wondered not who'd win the AL, but rather who'd finish behind the Bronx Bombers. Ditto for college basketball in the John Wooden era of super dominance.
There is a gap between the haves and have-nots. In the NHL's 'Original 6' era, with the exception of the 1961 Blackhawks, every Stanley Cup was one by Detroit, Toronto, or Montreal.
The case for parity
Everybody would have an equal chance at winning
The gap between the haves and have-nots would not be quite as steep.
The case against parity
Too many different champions means you don't see consistent greatness (example- from 1979-1987, there were 9 different World Series champions), and everything can feel like a spin of the wheel. Today's champion can be tomorrow's cellar-dweller.
Sometimes, parity means too much mediocrity can be rewarded (i.e. when two 8-8 NFC teams won playoff game in 2004-05, or the NHL's Norris Division in the 1980s)
What do you prefer- wide-open field or a dominant team to chase? What's better?
What do you guys prefer to see? (Most of you are used to seeing dynasties- either of your team or others, so I'll be interested to see what your responses are)
I'll make a case for and against each one:
The case for dynasties
It gives everyone else a dominant team to shoot for- i.e. 'the team to beat.'
The idea of David vs. Goliath
It's sometimes good to see greatness on a regular and consistent basis- excellence in athletics by a model franchise/team
The case against dynasties
Sometimes, there is such a thing as being too dominant. Watching college hoops in the late 1960s to the mid 1970s with UCLA winning all the time must not have been easy for fans of other teams.
When one team wins all the time, it can get tiresome for those that aren't fans of that team. When the Yankees won 20 World Series in 40 years from 1923-1962, it was not easy to be a fan of other American League teams. (Then again, there was no playoff format back then.)
It can sometimes make a seasons too predictable. For decades, people always wondered not who'd win the AL, but rather who'd finish behind the Bronx Bombers. Ditto for college basketball in the John Wooden era of super dominance.
There is a gap between the haves and have-nots. In the NHL's 'Original 6' era, with the exception of the 1961 Blackhawks, every Stanley Cup was one by Detroit, Toronto, or Montreal.
The case for parity
Everybody would have an equal chance at winning
The gap between the haves and have-nots would not be quite as steep.
The case against parity
Too many different champions means you don't see consistent greatness (example- from 1979-1987, there were 9 different World Series champions), and everything can feel like a spin of the wheel. Today's champion can be tomorrow's cellar-dweller.
Sometimes, parity means too much mediocrity can be rewarded (i.e. when two 8-8 NFC teams won playoff game in 2004-05, or the NHL's Norris Division in the 1980s)
What do you prefer- wide-open field or a dominant team to chase? What's better?
