The discussions about American Sports are endless, and the questions are never ending. But what about the largest question of all? After decades and decades of professional team competition in the four major American sports (football, basketball, baseball, and hockey), can we stop and ask, which sports city is the greatest? Which city has the most championships?
There have been many great sports dynasties but the discussion really comes down to the East Coast rivalry that never seems to end: Boston v. New York. These two cities win more championships than any other in America.
I have written on this rivalry before, but with the two cities now battling for first in the AL East, it only seems fit to revisit it.
New York
Out of all the cities in America, New York has the most professional sports championships, that is simply a fact. Yet this does not tell the whole story because New York has multiple teams for each one of the four major sports. Presumably, a real fan only roots for on the main team throughout the season, so to see which city is best you must compare the ideal New York fan to the Boston fan.
An ideal New York fan would be an NFL football fan of the New York Giants (four Super Bowl wins) over the New York Jets (One Super Bowl win) or Buffalo Bills (no championships).
The ideal NY fan would be an MLB baseball fan of the New York Yankees (27 World Series wins) over the New York Mets (two World Series wins).
This ideal fan would be an NBA basketball fan of the New York Knicks (two NBA Finals wins) over the Brooklyn Nets (no championships).
Lastly, this ideal NY fan would be an NHL hockey fan of either the New York Rangers (four Stanley Cups) or New York Islanders (four Stanley Cups) over the Buffalo Sabres (no championships) or Jersey Devils (three Stanley Cups).
So ultimately the ideal New York fan would have 27 baseball championships, four hockey championships, four football championships, and two basketball championships. This amounts to a total of 37 total championships for the ideal New York sports fan.
Boston
So how does Boston compare? Boston has enjoyed a fabulous run over the past decade and a half.
Ultimately the New England Patriots have five Super Bowls, the Boston Celtics have 17 NBA Finals titles, the Boston Red Sox have eight World Series wins, and the Boston Bruins have six Stanley Cups. This ultimately adds up to 36 total championships, just one short of the ideal New York Sports fan.
With all the rivalries in sports, there is none of larger magnitude than this; the race for sports immortality in America. Boston is close behind New York, and if the city continues with its decade and a half of sports dominance, then the sports world may soon see this rivalry become even more epic.
