Pens vs. Flyers tonight: But which city is the best?

Pittsburgh was dubbed the ‘City of Champions’ for a reason. Five Super Bowl championships. Five… Pittsburgh was dubbed the ‘City of Champions’ for a reason. Five Super Bowl championships. Five World Series titles. Two Stanley Cup trophies. Nine National Championships. Yeah, that’s pretty good. Pittsburgh breeds a proud sporting tradition from the professional level down to high school. The teams the city has supported over the years compose one factor of the equation, but the individual athletes that have played in Pittsburgh and the social importance of sport in the city prove its excellence over Philadelphia. The NFL’s Steelers rush to mind first, much like the team’s famous defense breaking into the backfield for a sack. In the past 20 years, the Steelers have been one of the most consistent franchises in all of sports, let alone football. The Steelers have won five Super Bowls, to the Philadelphia Eagles’ zero. Four of those five came in a six-year span in the 1970s, with the famous ‘Steel Curtain’ defense, but the one for the thumb finally came with a victory in Super Bowl XL. Legendary football players spent most of their careers in the Steel City. Terry Bradshaw, Joe Greene, Franco Harris, Jack Lambert, Jack Ham, John Stallworth, Lynn Swann, Rod Woodson, Jerome Bettis, Hines Ward, Ben Roethlisberger. When you think of the Eagles, you think of Ron Jaworski, Randall Cunningham and Terrell Owens throwing Donovan McNabb under a bus. Enough said. Baseball’s Pirates have had a lousier stretch of production than Madonna, but still have a rich history with those five World Series rings. Again, some of the greatest players to ever don a uniform called Pittsburgh home. Honus Wagner was perhaps the greatest shortstop ever, but he’s more known for his rare baseball card in the early 20th century. Willie Stargell hit 475 home runs, all for Pittsburgh. Barry Bonds started his career in Pittsburgh and should have ended it there as well. And who could forget Roberto Clemente, indisputably the greatest Latino player ever. It would be remiss to forget the great Negro Leagues as well, and the renowned slugger of the amazing Homestead Grays and Pittsburgh Crawfords, Josh Gibson. The Pirates’ last World Series came in 1979, and the team has now gone through 16 straight losing seasons, tied for the worst stretch in professional sporting history. But do you know who shares that record? Yep, the Philadelphia Phillies, from 1933-48. Oh, and they only have one title, in 1980. And they aren’t winning this year, either. The Penguins of the NHL are also one of the best franchises in sports. They don’t have the same history as the Pirates or the Steelers, but once again, some of the greatest ever are known for their time in black and gold. Mario Lemieux is the second best hockey star of all time, behind only Wayne Gretzky. Jaromir Jagr joined Lemieux in 1990 to form one of the best scoring duos in hockey. And now, of course, the Penguins own the dynamic triad of Marc-Andre Fleury, Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby. The Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh both entered the league in 1967, and both have two titles. Both were back-to-back. But Philadelphia’s came in 1974 and 1975. The Flyers have reached the finals plenty of times, but choked in all of them. Bobby Clarke is the best Flyer ever, but Lemieux’s got him beat. And the Flyers had Eric Lindros. That was a waste of hockey talent. The one advantage Philadelphia holds to Pittsburgh lies in professional basketball. That’s because there’s no team here. The 76ers have a decent history, with players like Julius Erving, Charles Barkley and Allen Iverson, but only have three championships to show for it. The last? 1983. The edge in college sports points in Pittsburgh’s direction as well. It isn’t even a fair contest in football. Pitt lays claim to nine national titles, most of which came in the early part of the 20th century. It’s produced legends like Dan Marino, Tony Dorsett and Mike Ditka. Philly? It’s lone Division I school is Temple, which was so awful for such a long period of time that it got booted from the Big East. And the Big East isn’t exactly a power conference these days. Philadelphia’s most recent title comes in the form of college basketball, from Villanova in 1985. Villanova is a successful program, but Pitt has overtaken the Wildcats as a Big East force. Pitt has made the NCAA Tournament seven straight seasons. Philly might have the Big Five, but those schools haven’t lit the world on fire either. Saint Joseph’s and Temple have decent teams, but aren’t among the top 40 programs in the country. Throw in that Pittsburgh’s fans relate to their teams as part of their culture and identity, with a base that spreads throughout the nation, and you have a top-tier sports city. Philadelphia’s fans boo more than they cheer, with a notorious reputation for negativity. Even Pirates fans aren’t that bad. When you tally up the final score, Pittsburgh blows out Philadelphia. And it isn’t even close.