I know the Yankees have won far more World Series than any other Major League club.  But let’s say for the moment that you are a recent college grad, 22 or 23 years old, who is a diehard fan of the Bronx Bombers.  What have you witnessed in your lifetime?  

The last of the Yankees’ three-peat from 1998-2000 happened when you were 3 or 4 years old—so I highly doubt you have any vivid memories of that.  And that leaves you with one World Series title—in 2009—which I’m not denigrating; but it hardly represents a dynasty during your years as a fan.  

So do you really think your team is superior to the Red Sox or the Giants or the Cardinals—all of which have won multiple titles during your years as a baseball fan?  And do you really feel like you have been rooting for a dynasty?

Or let’s take a Boston Celtics fan who is a decade older—in his or her early 30s—than my hypothetical Yankees fan.  Yes, the Celtics have won more titles than any other NBA team but for that Celtics fan born around 1986 or so, he or she has seen them win a grand total of one championship.  So, again, do they really think they are rooting for a dynasty?  (I think Lakers and Spurs fans born in the mid-1980s would have a more legitimate claim about that.)

Of course, you knew I would bring this back to Ohio State and Michigan.  I will concede Michigan has a long history of success in football but, if you are a recent college grad—perhaps 22 or 23 years old—who grew up in Michigan rooting for the Wolverines, how meaningful is that history when all you have basically witnessed is the football team essentially falling short year after year?  

Don’t get me wrong—I am a lover of sports history.  But, from a fan’s perspective, if you haven’t directly experienced a team’s glory years and championships, how much do you really feel like you are rooting for a purportedly legendary program or team?