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San Francisco 49ers and the Montana Dynasty
Any review of professional football dynasties throughout history would be incomplete without mentioning the great San Francisco 49ers dynasty that existed over the course of the 1980s and into the first part of the following decade. In fact, that dynasty was one of the most impressive to ever take the field, as it occurred during the playing years of some of football's all time great stars - men like Steve Young and the indomitable Jerry Rice. Over a sixteen year period, 49ers teams compiled ten-plus win seasons each year and, with their great quarterback Joe Montana, won four amazing Super Bowls.

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Picked up by the 49ers in 1979, Montana would be the team's quarterback until 1992. There has probably never been a player at his position with the sound football sense that Golden Joe had. Never one to panic, he always knew that every game was within reach even if his team was behind on the scoreboard. His last-minute comeback drives are now the stuff of legend, as he engineered 31 such drives during his time as quarterback. Ask any fan of the man and you'll probably hear a number closer to 200, simply because his comebacks were of such a high profile that it now seems like there were more of them than there actually were. The truth is that the 49ers were never behind as often as fans' memories might now portray them as being. The efficiency of their offense kept them ahead or close to the lead in most games.

Winning Super Bowls

Of his four Lombardi trophies, the first is easily the most thrilling tale to tell. It began with an NFC title matchup versus the Cowboys in early 1982, and a six point deficit in the waning moments of the game. Montana rallied his team and marched down the field with a flurry of quick strike plays, finally finishing the drive with a touchdown pass to Dwight Clark that is now legendary. Called "the Catch", the play is now part of NFL history, and sent the San Francisco team to that year's Super Bowl against the Bengals - a game they ultimately won. Montana earned the Most Valuable Player of the Super Bowl award - a feat he would repeat twice more before his career was over. The greatness had begun, and the 49ers would be led by Montana back to the Super Bowl - and three more trophies - in the nineteenth Super Bowl and in the twenty third and twenty fourth.

Legacy

There is no simple way to describe Joe Montana, and time seems to have worn some of the luster from his legend. In fact, there are even some NFL commentators who refer back more to the controversy with Steve Young than to the many accomplishments the team achieved during his time there. For Joe, even his trade to Kansas City couldn't quench his desire to win. In fact, after the trade, he simply went about his business and took the Chiefs to the AFC title game.
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