The Patriots cemented themselves as one of the greatest franchises in sports history after beating the Rams to earn their 6th Super Bowl title in 17 years.

The Patriots dynasty is pushing 20 years, which is unbelievable in this era of free agency and player movement. The Patriots have surpassed the Packers of the 1960’s, the Steelers of the 1970’s and the 49ers of the 1980’s as the greatest dynasty in NFL history. The only organization in the NFL that had an extended run like the Patriots would be the 49ers. Their run lasted 13 years from 1981 to 1994.

The Patriots are now in the conversation with some of the greatest teams in professional sports history. The Boston Celtics of the 60’s won eight championships. They won the NBA title every year of the decade except 1967.

The Montreal Canadiens of the 1970’s won six Stanley Cups. Up until the year 2000, the Canadiens were the only franchise in professional sports to have a championship winning team in every decade since 1920.

The New York Yankees won 12 titles between 1923 and 1949. While that is over a 26 year span, it is the only run in sports history that is comparable to the Patriots current run.

The 1990’s produced two dynasties in sports. The Chicago Bulls won six NBA championships under the direction of Phil Jackson and Michael Jordan. The New York Yankees won four titles between 1996 and 2000 and won another one in 2009. Both teams were dominant but not as dominant as the Patriots.

The only two franchises that I can think of in the modern era that would be comparable to the Patriots would be the San Antonio Spurs and Detroit Red Wings of the 2000’s. The Spurs had a 16 year run of excellence from 1999 to 2014 winning five NBA titles. They have fallen to the middle of the pack however since the retirement of Tim Duncan. The Red Wings won four Stanley Cups from 1996 to 2007 and made the playoffs 24 straight years. Recently however, they have fallen on hard times and have struggled to recapture the success they once had.

What the Patriots have done the past 17 years is historic. We don’t need to recite their accomplishments, we already know them. Patriots fans should just enjoy the ride. It is not going to last much longer. Someday we will look back on this Patriots dynasty and be thankful that we were around to see it.