Bah, I laugh at your flash-in-the-pan teams that shine for a season or two. The All Blackshave a winning record against all other teams and a win percentage of 76.96% in internationals since 1903.
I saw the Lakers in 1971-1972 during their 33 game win streak. Christ, the nose bleed seats at the Forum were really far away. No matter. Thanks dad, it was awesome!
If you’ll recall, that was also the year that Mario was diagnosed with cancer, and was sitting out a lot of games. (Yes, the team was more than just him, but it definitely took its toll) He also had so many other problems – mostly with his back, as well as atrial fibrillation throughout his entire career.
I truly believe if he had been fully healthy, the Pens could have become a dynasty, and that Mario would have accomplished a hell of alot more. (And many others have said so)
And of course, I’m going to go along with the early 90s Pens, not so much because I’m biased (which of course I am), but because that’s the first time I really remember paying attention to sports. The Steelers big days were back before for I was born (their last Super Bowl had been won when I was just a baby). The city was just going nuts.
That’s hardly a team in the same sense that others have been talking about. It certainly is an impressive record though.
Islander fan here who saw the rise through the dynasty..they were better than the Oilers that came after, but the '77 Canadiens were the best NHL hockey team I ever saw. The Soviet Red Army team wasn’t too bad either.
All good calls…I’d have a tough time arguing any of these.
I haven’t seen many world-beaters in person. The only two I can think of offhand would be the 1994 Brazil World Cup team that beat the U.S. 1-0 (and that wasn’t even one of their more dominating sides, though they did end up winning it all.) and the 1994 San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers really have to share the stage though with the Dallas Cowboys of that era, for being two of the finest football teams ever. Ridiculous, the amount of talent on both of those teams.
Didn’t watch them live, and not to pile onto 1994, but the Nebraska Cornhuskers of that year (though really, the next.) probably have to be considered in the running for finest college football team of all time. 1995-96 was just silly. They trailed for only part of one game during the entire regular season, though Florida did have them down early in the Fiesta Bowl, before eventually losing 62-24. Amazing talent.
In person, the two best teams are probably the '89 Oakland As and the 2002 Miami Hurricanes. The As seemed unstoppable, at least in the AL, for their 3 years at the top. I have to think that if Gibson didn’t get his homer in the '88 WS, the As would have gone on to win (I remember them as being shellshocked and never recovering), and then just running into a buzzsaw Reds team in '90. The 2002 Canes were defending champions and in the midst of a 34 game winning streak. It wasn’t their best team by any means, but probably their 2nd best non-championship team.
Other good/great teams I’ve seen: '94 Nebraska Cornhuskers, '92 Blue Jays, '02 Anaheim Angels (spring training), '02 San Francisco Giants.
It would have to be the championship Lakers teams in the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons. I don’t think I’ve ever gone to a baseball game with the eventual World Series champions (not all that surprising, considering most of the games I’ve gone to have been at Wrigley Field). For college football, the 1996 Florida Gators were the best I’ve seen in person. For college basketball, it’s either the 2005-06 Gators or maybe a couple of the Kentucky teams from a decade before.
For the “in person” category, that has to be the team for me. On the last weekend of the season I saw them break the American League record for wins by beating the Rays. The record lasted all of three years, but the Yankees won the Series that year and the 116-win Mariners didn’t.
Speaking of invincible, then, the '95-'96 Bulls. They were just absurdly good. I remember people were downright confused when they went up 3-0 on Seattle in the finals and then actually lost two games before wrapping it up.
1992 Univ. of Alabama football would probably be at the top of my list. I was on the support staff for the team as a graduate student and was at every game. That defense was absolutely dominant. Their complete destruction of Miami in the Sugar Bowl was magical to watch, especially after almost no one gave them a chance to win and hearing all the shit-talking by Miami players leading up to the game. The 2009 and 2011 National Championship teams under Nick Saban have to be in there too, but I had more personal involvement in 1992 than I do now.
Jay Barker, Derrick Lassick, and David Palmer…fuck. Those twerps had no business near a title! But yeah, that Bama D was damn good.
I missed the post about tv being sufficient. In that case, I second the suggestion of the '95/96 Bulls. I think they were 39-2 at home that season. There was just no way that any team was going to beat a Michael Jordan team 4 times out of 7. I’m still amazed that the Blazers and Sonics managed 2 wins in '92 and '96. If there were ever a time to say the NBA rigged things to keep things interesting for tv, it had to be those Finals series. “Come on, Mike, let us get 6 games on tv. Please!” I think MJ at that time was the dictionary definition of simply willing a team to victory.
They were. And I just noticed they won the Central Division by 20 games.
You’re underestimating the team, I think. The starting five had Jordan, Pippen, and Rodman, and they had Kukoc and Kerr coming off the bench. If you want willing a team to victory, there’s The Flu Game the next season.
Here’s a statistic for you:
In 2011-2012, the average NHL team scored about 2.6 goals per game.
In 1976-1977, the Montreal Canadiens scored 2.7 goals per game… more than the other team.
nm
I think it’s got to be the '95-'96 Bulls. There was never a point in the season where there was any doubt that they were going to win the championship. The only question was whether or not they were going to break the record for most wins.
I think honorable mention has to go to the '92 US Olympic basketball team (AKA The Dream Team). That tournament was something that I’m pretty sure none of us will ever see again.
And they did, by 3 games. The gap between 1st and 2nd for teams with the most NBA wins is bigger than the gap between 2nd and 10th.
The Bulls from 1995-97 were amazing, especially considering the level of talent in the NBA at the time. After setting the record for most wins in 96, they tied for 2nd most wins in 97.
This is what I came here to mention.
The 1991 UNLV Runnin’ Rebels. Larry Johnson, Stacey Augmon, Greg Anthony and the boys who won the national championship the year earlier - beating Duke by 30 in the title game - came back the next year and went undefeated to the Final Four, where they lost to Christian Laettner’s Duke team by 2. That ended a 45 game winning streak for the Rebels.
And I saw them up close and personal in the cozy confines of the 5,000 seat Bren Events Center at UC Irvine.
In person, the best thing I ever saw was the Argentinian soccer team of '93.
IIRC, they had been beaten 5-0 by Colombia in the qualifiers. So they brought back Maradona, and he knocked us (Australia) out of the World Cup Qualifiers. I arrived late to the match in Sydney, but apparently his warm up was something to behold. Spinning the ball back to himself from a dozen yards or so, and then lofting it up onto his shoulder and stuff like that.
He stole the ball on the wing and then crossed it into Abel Balbo for an amazing header.
/watched Johan Cruyff play for the Washington Diplomats every week during the '80 NASL season as well, the highlight being a packed out RFK stadium when the Dips played the NY Cosmos in a game that went to extra time
//still a bit peeved that that '94 Argentinian team got knocked out of the World Cup. They were playing 3 up front, Balbo, Batistuta, and Maradona. They were a beautiful team to watch, and then Maradona got suspended for ephedrine. I don’t care about ephedrine.
The 2007 Patriots. Not only did they go 16-0 in the regular season, they beat their opponents by an average of twenty points (37-17) during the season. The Giants were slightly better on Superbowl Sunday, but the Patriots dominated the season like no team ever had.
Bush/Lienart era USC Trojans. Fun while it lasted…
Prost/Lauda McLaren F1 was a pretty good team.