Berglund 1 Wyatt Berglund Professor Fields English comp. I, sec 0010 3/4/2018 The Calm Before the Score NFL dynasties have been a topic of debate on the possibility that are affecting NFL viewership’s and attendance. The first question that needs to be answered is what is a NFL dynasty? A NFL dynasty can be defined as a team dominating over a period of a time. For the sake of my review paper I am only going to be mainly focusing on dynasties that have won 4 or more super bowls. The reason behind this is because there are teams that are considered dynasties due to moderate success. An example of that would be the 90s Buffalo bills losing four super bowls in a row. Also, there are also teams that were dominate before super bowls like the Green Bay Packers (1960-1967) or the Cleveland Browns (1950-1955). I will be focusing on the Pittsburg Steeler’s dynasty (1972-79), San Francisco 49er’s dynasty (1981-1994) and New England Patriot’s dynasty (2001-2018) (DaSilva, Cameron). I will be looking at how these teams formed, what trades/draft picks they made and what affect did they have on NFL and in the public Eye. With a one and thirteen record the Steelers drafted quarterback Terry Bradshaw with the first overall pick in 1969. Bradshaw would the first player drafted by Coach Chuck Noll that would help turn the Steelers into a dominate dynasty. “In all, Coach Chuck Noll drafted 10 players who are now enshrined in the Hall of Fame including three in his first 20 picks and four of his first 38 (“Steelers by the Decade”).” The Steelers improved each year until 1972 when Berglund 2 they won their first division title. Winning a title that season wasn’t the only important thing, it was also the season with the “immaculate reception”. Which was a win against the Oakland Raiders where in the last seconds of the game quarterback Terry Bradshaw of the Pittsburg Steelers passed to a wide receiver who was hit by a Raiders defensive back. The ball bounced off both men and fell into the hands of Steelers running back Franco Harris, who ran it in for a touchdown. The Steelers won that game 13 to 7 (Immaculate Reception original broadcast). The Steelers didn’t reach the super bowl that year, but the “immaculate reception” was an important clutch play for the dynasty. It is a defining moment for the dynasty and is considered the true start to this dynasty, as the Steelers won a super bowl in 1974 with the team that they built in the draft in the years before. They Steelers dynasty were able to win four super bowls with a team that they built through the draft and the “immaculate reception” showed what was to come. Additional detail was needed for the Steelers dynasty because it is almost the same story for the San Francisco 49er’s dynasty. Both teams built their dynasties through the draft and achieved success through an unlikely play. After a bad season in 1979 the 49ers drafted future hall of famer quarterback Joe Montana and pro bowler wider receiver Dwight Clark (Gutierrez, Paul). Like the Steelers these two draft picks create a moment like the “immaculate reception” known as the “catch”. The San Francisco 49ers beat the Dallas Cowboys during a NFC championship game in the last seconds of the game. The “catch” is considered the start of the 49ers dynasty just like the “immaculate reception”. Not only that the 49ers continued their dynasties by drafting Pro-Bowlers and Hall of Famers, just as the Steelers did. Most dynasties tend to go with the drafting process and build a team over time, but some dynasties find other ways to build. Berglund 3 The New England Patriots came out nowhere with a pro bowler quarterback drafted in the 6th round 199th in 2000 (Gaines, Cork). Tom Brady became arguably one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. Yet they relied more on free agency and drafting more players in the low rounds of the draft, unlike the 49ers and Steelers. Though the Patriots started like the 49ers and Steelers dynasty with the Patriots winning a Super Bowl in 2002 against the Rams who were heavily favored (New England Patriots Win First Super Bowl.). The Patriots “immaculate Reception” was when Adam Vinatieri secured the win by a field goal kick in the last seconds of the game. Like the Steelers and 49ers dynasties, they had this play that defined them as a team, except the Patriots won their divisional round that season over a controversial rule, called the Tuck Rule. It was the last two minutes of the game and Tom Brady was tackled by Charles Woodson who caused Brady to fumble and the raiders were able to recover the ball. All of that was over turned and the ruling was under the rule that “When a Team A player is holding the ball to pass it forward, any intentional forward movement of his hand starts a forward pass, even if the player loses possession of the ball as he is attempting to tuck it back toward his body.” (Gutierrez, Paul). The Patriots ended up winning the game and the super bowl that year. Starting a dynasty on a controversy which sometimes overshadows the Vinatieri kick. The Patriots continued to enter the negative lime light with controversy’s like watching other teams training camps and deflate gate: Which Tom Brady was suspended for deflating footballs in a playoff game against the Colts. It also didn’t help Tom Brady situation, when Donald Trump became a more controversial figure and he and Brady were known to be friends. Which did not make Brady a more likeable Berglund 4 figure in the public eye. The Patriots dynasty started as a controversy and continues to be one even after they have won five super bowls and continue to make the playoffs year after year. Another question that can be asked is what effect do NFL dynasties have on attendance and viewership? The answer to that is none, or at least they don’t have an effect on Super bowl ratings, viewership or fan attendance. The Patriots have become one of the most hated teams in the NFL and have been connected with tv ratings going down due to their dominance or there many appearances super bowls. Yet we see the Super bowl ratings fluctuate without any correlation to the Patriots dynasty. The 2018 super bowl who involved the Patriots where at a 43.1% (“Super Bowl Ratings Chart, All-Time.”). Which was the same percentage in 2008 season where the undefeated Patriots lost to the New York Giants. Which was down to one play where a giant’s player caught a ball against his helmet. The giants shortly won after that play and winning a super bowl as extreme under dogs. It is considering to be one of the best super bowls of all time, even though the Patriots were in that game. The Patriots in the recent years have been getting more and more hate do to the fact that they have been intertwined with controversies and gives that puts them in the negative limelight. Whereas the 49ers and Steelers dynasties were these tough opponents and where hated by division rivals and teams they beat in the playoffs each year, yet they are remembered with positivity. Yet there is no positive or negative correlation with dynasties and super bowls, there is positive growth for a select amount of years then the ratings will dip back down without any connection with any of these three dynasties (“Super Bowl Ratings Chart, All-Time.”). An article written by Pivovarnik, Lamb, Zuber, and Gandar talks about how free agency can actually put more interest on a team with fans wondering what impact that player could have on the team (1). Berglund 5 An article by Pak says, “At the team-level, I find that intra-seasonal balance has a much larger effect on attendance than either dynasty persistence or inter-seasonal balance” (Gina, L Pak)). So even if a dynasties team is going to the playoffs every year its attendance could go down, but the team who rarely ever goes to the playoffs could see attendance growth. Which means there is no correlation with dynasties and attendance or tv rating. After researching dynasties, I come to the conclusion that dynasties in the NFL don’t have as big as effect on viewership for super bowls or attendance of other teams as much as they should. Dynasties like the 49ers and Steelers had an effect on the NFL, but soon after they died out they were remembered fondly, due to the lack of controversy. The New England Patriots dynasty on the other had will be remembered for more of its controversies then their super bowl wins and dominance over other teams. The Patriots dragged the word dynasty through the mud, as most people will think of a team that cheated to get to the top by getting calls in their favor and getting caught in scandals after scandals. I believe dynasties are just another excuse to for NFL ratings being down and that football dynasties create rivalries, competition, underdog stories and new excitement. As when one dynasty falls another will surely rise. Just because I was able to come to a conclusion with my paper doesn’t mean there aren’t gaps in my paper. There is a major gap in my paper that would help solidify my main research topic.