Column: Pittsburgh versus Philadelphia in seven categories

Normally, the sight of Philadelphia Phillies shirts or Flyers jerseys in the streets of… Normally, the sight of Philadelphia Phillies shirts or Flyers jerseys in the streets of Pittsburgh would attract attention from the Steel City’s passionate sports fans.

But people from one area of Pittsburgh have grown accustomed to it.

The displays of bright red and burnt orange sports apparel are commonplace on the University of Pittsburgh’s campus, where a large number of students frequently show their allegiance to eastern Pennsylvania.

With the Phillies recently in town to face the Pittsburgh Pirates for Major League Baseball’s opening weekend and the Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins set to duel in a playoff hockey series that might see more fights than goals, the never-ending Pittsburgh-Philadelphia rivalry has been a popular point of discussion among Pitt students.

This best of seven showdown comparing each city’s attributes should settle this debate once and for all:

Baseball

When it comes to the game often referred to as America’s pastime, both cities have a lot to be proud of.

The Pirates’ history boasts five Major League Baseball championships and the most famous hit in baseball — Bill Mazeroski’s walk-off home run to beat the New York Yankees in Game Seven of the 1960 World Series.

Meanwhile, the Phillies have only won two titles, but recent history is on their side considering both of those championships were more recent than the Pirates’ last World Series victory in 1979.

And with the Pirates currently mired in a 19-year streak of losing seasons — the longest in professional sports — it is impossible to give them the nod.

Philadelphia takes the early lead.

Hockey

The biggest head-to-head rivalry between the two cities transpires on the ice. The Flyers and Penguins — and their fan bases — just don’t like each other.

Even though the Flyers lead the all-time series against the Penguins and have appeared in twice as many Stanley Cup Finals, the Penguins have actually raised three Stanley Cup trophies compared to the Flyers’ two.

Over the years, Philadelphia’s hockey team has had success playing an aggressive style, earning them the nickname of the “Broad Street Bullies.” The Penguins, on the other hand, have drafted and won with some of the most skilled offensive players in the history of the game.

Current Penguins Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby are the two best players in the NHL, but the franchise might not be in Pittsburgh today had former Penguin and hockey legend Mario Lemieux not bought the team. He also helped in the process of building the brand new Consol Energy Center downtown.

Pittsburgh takes this one because of Lemieux, and Philadelphia should consider itself lucky that Flyers forward Scott Hartnell’s wacky haircut did not deduct a point from its tally.

Football

Comparing the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Philadelphia Eagles is not a case of asking, “What have you done for me lately?” Instead, it is more like, “What have you done for me ever?”

While the Steelers’ six Super Bowl titles make them the most successful franchise in National Football League history, the Eagles are one of the 14 current NFL teams to have never won America’s biggest football game.

Heck, even the Pitt football team’s 1976 national championship season means it has brought a title to Pittsburgh more recently than the Eagles have to Philadelphia.

In fact, some Steelers fans often jokingly state that the only noteworthy moment in the history of the Eagles occurred during the 1943 season when World War II forced the two franchises to combine rosters and form a team known as the “Steagles.”

There is no debating this one. Pittsburgh easily picks up the point.

Basketball

With the lack of a professional basketball team in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia has a huge edge in this category.

The Philadelphia 76ers own two NBA championships, which is two more titles than Pittsburgh’s three Division I NCAA basketball teams — Pitt, Duquesne and Robert Morris — can claim.

Philadelphia is also home to the Big 5, which consists of five Division I basketball schools — Penn, La Salle, Saint Joseph’s, Temple and Villanova — that are in or near the Philadelphia city limits. Villanova won a national championship in 1985.

Although the 76ers are just an average franchise in today’s NBA, they win their city the point for this category.

Food

This argument, more than any other between Pittsburghers and Philadelphians, is all about personal preference.

The Philly Cheesesteak is a classic hoagie synonymous with Pennsylvania’s biggest city, while the variety of sandwiches and toppings available at Pittsburgh’s famous Primanti Bros. Restaurants makes the Steel City’s sandwich one of a kind.

But the idea of putting coleslaw on a sandwich can make some stomachs turn. The broader appeal of the cheesesteak gives it the nod.

Music

Popular names like Christina Aguilera and Boyz II Men hail from both cities, but this essentially comes down to a rap battle between Wiz Khalifa, a graduate of Pittsburgh’s Taylor Allderdice High School, and Meek Mill, an upcoming rapper from Philadelphia.

This one is close, but until Meek Mill turns a song about two colors into a city anthem and a No. 1 hit like Wiz Khalifa did with “Black and Yellow,” then the Pittsburgh native has the advantage.

Pittsburgh ties it up.

Intangibles

With sports, food and music unable to settle this debate, it all comes down to the intangibles that give each city its personality and uniqueness.

Some Philadelphia natives will claim that Wawa, the popular food and gas station, gives them the edge because Sheetz doesn’t have locations in downtown Pittsburgh like Wawa does in Philadelphia. And sure, the Declaration of Independence was signed in Philadelphia.

But how can you take a city that calls itself the “City of Brotherly Love” seriously when its residents once booed a man dressed as Santa Claus at an Eagles game? That isn’t brotherly or loving.

Sorry Philadelphia, but in this argument, Pittsburgh actually backs up its popular nickname: the “City of Champions.”

And just for the record, Sheetz is better than Wawa.