There I was, lying on the couch in the fetal position rocking back and forth chanting “this is not happening” over and over again when it happened. Al Michaels had just declared the football season over when I heard one of the two sports terms that always gets my attention. Someone said the word “dynasty.”

Now other sportscasters and columnists have used this word recently and it never fails to piss me off. What they’re referring to is the Green Bay Packers.

Right. With today’s system of free agency and the salary cap, the Packers have about as much chance of becoming a true dynasty as Riddick Bowe has of being “blood pinned” by his new buddies in the Marine Corps. Now I’m not writing this as an attack on the Packers. What I am attacking is the overuse of one of my most hated sports terms. Don’t worry, I’ll get to the second one a little later.

The word “dynasty” has been so overused recently as to actually be an accepted term for a team that has won one championship. A dynasty is by definition an organization that is so dominant in sports as to not only claim multiple championships over a short period of time, but to have a lasting effect on the game itself.

Two examples that spring readily to mind are the Boston Celtics teams of the 60s (10 championships in 11 years) and the 49ers teams of the 80s. If you doubt the Niners place as a dynasty just take a quick look at the league today. Is it just me or does it seem that every other team is either using the “West Coast offense” or has a head coach who’s a “former Bill Walsh disciple.”

Now I don’t consider myself a sports historian, but I do have great respect for sports history and that brings me to the second of my most hated terms, the phrase “greatest ever.” Recently it seems that every time anyone does anything vaguely commendable he’s labeled the “greatest ever.”

A good example of this is my old buddy Dennis Rodman. I was watching a game in which Rodman recorded his 10,000th career rebound, shortly before NBA commissioner David Stern put Rodman on double-secret probation. The announcer proudly proclaimed him “the greatest rebounder ever.” You’ve got to be kidding me. A man named Moses Malone retired from the NBA a few years ago with 15,150 rebounds. So who’s number one? Wilt Chamberlain comes in at numero uno with 23,924. Do the math.

What criteria are people using when they call someone the greatest ever? Joe Montana is widely considered the greatest quarterback of all time but Dan Marino owns all the records. Maybe championships are in fact the criteria. If so then let’s look at the NBA. Jordan is called the greatest ever but has only four rings. Bill Russell has 11. That’s one for every finger with a spare left over.

What I think happened is somewhere along the way the line got blurred between “my favorite team or player” and a “dynasty” or “the greatest ever.” It’s perfectly acceptable to root hard for a favorite team or player but let’s try to keep things in perspective.

Kevin Petty is a senior in journalism and mass communication from Carlisle.