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Looking around the professional sports landscape these days, we are just as likely to see pure domination as we are to see real competition. I'm talking about certain teams and individual athletes who almost always seem to win and come out on top. The question I would like to consider is, which is better for sports on the whole? Is it better to have an iconic figure or team that dominates year in and year out, or is it better to have a bit more parity? I believe the answer to this question lies in your relative position as a fan. Rabid fans of a particular sport want to see parity; casual fans prefer dominance. Let me explain my point of view as it pertains to my own situation.

I am a diehard fan of only two sports: NFL football and AMA Professional Motocross. As such, I think the last couple of seasons in both sports have been pretty boring. In the NFL, I am getting tired of seeing the same teams rise to the top. The New England Patriots have won three out of the last four Super Bowls, elevating that team to "dynasty" status in analysts' eyes. Prior to the current New England dynasty, NFL fans were subjected to the Dallas Cowboys dynasty of the early '90s, as well as the Buffalo Bills, who represented the AFC in four straight Super Bowls without actually winning. While I'm sure the fans in those cities love the fact that their teams regularly make it to the playoffs, championship games, and Super Bowl, it's kind of boring for the rest of us.

Over in the professional motocross world, one name has appeared over and over again in the last 8 years: Ricky Carmichael. Since Carmichael hit the professional ranks in 1997, he has won every single outdoor motocross series that he has entered. Not only has he won eight titles in a row, he has also posted the only perfect seasons (yes, he did it twice) in AMA MX history. He is no slouch on the indoor Supercross circuit either. He has racked up four 250 class SX titles in the last 5 years. This makes for a very boring race season. Fans pretty much know that RC is just going to jump out in front and run away with the win.

However, when I am a casual fan of sports, such as golf, cycling, and tennis, I don't mind seeing the same athletes dominate all the time. In fact, that's what I actually want to see. For example, there's no way I would tune in to the Tour de France every day in July if someone other than Lance Armstrong had a realistic shot of winning. I don't watch any other cycling event during the year. I only watch the Tour de France, and I only watch it to see Lance win. The same thing applies to my golf viewing habits. I don't want to watch a tournament unless Tiger Woods is within striking distance on Sunday. I really just want to see him play and win. I don't know many other golfers' names, so it's not fun for me if someone else is leading.

So you can see that it comes down to a matter of perspective. If you are just a casual fan of a sport, you want to see the individual or team that you are most familiar with win. If you are a more knowledgeable fan, you would prefer to see a bit of competition. For my sake, I hope another NFL team jumps out and shakes things up this year!