Here comes that word again.

Dynasty.

It seems to pop up much more often in the sports world than it really should.

The latest is the San Francisco Giants putting away their third World Series title in five years. Some folks are referring to that as a dynasty.

Seriously?

Make no mistake, the Giants have earned those three championships, putting together quality starting pitching, solid bullpens, clutch hitting and great defense each time.

They played baseball the way it’s supposed to ber played.

But a dynasty? No.

Teams that are dynasties dominate. The Giants didn’t even win their division this year. They struggled in September. If the Brewers and Braves didn’t collapse, they probably would have missed the playoffs entirely.

They edged Kansas City in seven games, largely because of the superhuman pitching efforts of one guy, Madison Bumgarner.

That is not a dynasty.

When a youthful and nasty Seattle Seahawks defense led them to an overwhelming victory over Denver in the last Super Bowl, the word “dynasty” was uttered a few times.

Can we wait and see if they follow it up? Last time I checked, Seattle was 3-3, two games behind Arizona in the NFC West.

Look up dynasty in the dictionary and it says “a succession of rulers who are members of the same family.”

That sounds like ruling for a long time to me.

Locally, Karns City’s girls soccer team is playing in its seventh consecutive District 9 championship game. KC football has owned that district for years.

Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic girls basketball has been to the WPIAL playoffs 36 straight years, winning 34 section titles and 17 WPIAL crowns during that time.

North Allegheny’s football team recently reeled off three straight WPIAL titles and two state crowns. The Tigers never miss the playoffs.

Mars girls soccer team has played 72 consecutive section games without a loss.

Want to call any of those above teams dynasties?

I’ll buy that.

The New England Patriots? Close, but not really. Yeah, they reach the playoffs, but their division is weak and it’s been a number of years since they’ve won a Super Bowl.

University of Alabama football? That could be. It took a crazy 100-yard return of a missed field goal to deny the Crimson Tide a shot at a third straight national championship.

Yes, dynasties have existed.

The Montreal Canadiens and New York Yankees have ripped off stretches of successive titles in their history that would certainly qualify. The Boston Celtics of the Bill Russell era absolutely dominated the NBA.

Jimmie Johnson had a personal dynasty in NASCAR working for a while.

Dynasty is a special word in sports. It should be reserved for truly special achievements.

John Enrietto is sports editor of the Butler Eagle