Few athletic achievements are more enduring than winning championships. However a team got there, whatever it took, whether the results along the way were commanding or tenuous, once secured a title in any sport – unless you cheated – is rightly a matter of pride and honor.
Looking at championships secured this century, there have been surprisingly few that involved dominating statements of supremacy. New England in the NFL, UConn in women’s basketball are stubbornly striking exceptions, both pronounced pace-setters in their respective realms.
Conversely, some of the seemingly most untouchable teams in recent history fell short at the threshold of winning a championship that would have indelibly validated their excellence.