PITTSBURGH _ Pittsburgh and Philadelphia share a common first letter, a commonwealth and little else.
Philly's got more people, more land, more attitude. Statistics suggest it's more expensive and more stressful to live there. It's got more history, more theaters and restaurants and 1.6 million more TV-viewing households.
But in the one comparison that matters most, at least to all the sports-crazed residents at either end of Pennsylvania, the Steel City holds a sizable edge.
During the last half-century, as sports have evolved from mere pastimes into civic obsessions, Pittsburgh has won more than twice as many major professional championships as Philadelphia, 13-5.
That lopsided advantage in victory parades defies easy explanation. After all, Pennsylvania's second largest city has just three teams to Philadelphia's four and far fewer of the resources that typically spell sports success.
In an era when media revenue is vital for any franchise, Pittsburgh's TV market is downright tiny, the 63rd largest in the U.S. (Philadelphia's is No. 4). At 303,000, its seriously shrunken population is one-fifth the size of Philadelphia's. It's smaller than all but one Major League Baseball city, all but one NHL city, all but three NFL cities.
Those shortcomings have impacted its sports teams, especially the Penguins and Pirates, financially challenged franchises that on numerous occasions have threatened to leave for Seattle, Kansas City, St. Petersburg, Fla., or other greener pastures.
And yet Pittsburgh produces champions the way it once did steel.
"When you consider that we're about half as big as we were in 1960, and then you think about the championships our professional teams and Pitt football have won over the years, it's pretty impressive," said Rob Ruck, a history professor at Pitt.
Now, as Pennsylvania's two NFL teams, each with the best record in its conference, head toward a possible Super Bowl showdown, that championship disparity figures to come under increased scrutiny.
While Philadelphia is better-known nationally for the irritability of its fans than the quality of its teams, those 13 championships since 1968 (Steelers 6, Penguins 5, Pirates 2) have helped Pittsburgh, dubbed the "City of Champions" by broadcaster Howard Cosell in 1979, forge a new identity.
"Think of Pittsburgh when Cosell made that comment," said Ruck, who has authored several books on the city's sports history. "Our economic base was crumbling and would get worse. Even though working in a steel mill was dirty and dangerous, being the Steel City gave people here an identity. When those jobs went away, there was an economic and psychological depression.
"But as that identity faded, sports became the story that Pittsburgh told of itself to the world. It's a story about people who work hard, play hard and persevere. We grabbed that identity and it has stuck with us."
Sports is not an exact science and championships are as likely to be the result of luck as careful planning. But when looking at Pittsburgh there are some organizational traits that jump out.
The Steelers, for example, prize consistency and loyalty. They've been owned by one family since their inception and coached by just three men since 1969. (The Eagles have had seven ownership groups and, since '69, 13 coaches.) The Pirates tapped into Latin American and African American talent long before the Phillies and other rivals. The Penguins, despite twice declaring bankruptcy, have drafted astonishingly well and become part of the fabric of a city with little hockey history.
If titles are as much the byproduct of what happens off the field as on, then considerable credit has to go to two men connected with the franchises that have won the bulk of those championships over the last 50 years _ the Steelers and Penguins.
Bill Nunn was a black sportswriter in Pittsburgh who persuaded the Steelers to tap into the largely ignored talent pool at the nation's historically black colleges _ a strategy that built the foundation of the teams that would win four Super Bowls between 1975 and 1980.
Meanwhile, Mario Lemieux not only led the Penguins to two Stanley Cups as a player, but as their owner has been largely responsible for keeping them in Pittsburgh and getting them the arena that has helped them capture three more.
Many here also point to the city's fan base as a factor. Though Pittsburghers might not be quite as overtly passionate as Philadelphians, they're much less likely to jump on a struggling team or athlete.
"They're more generous than Philly fans," said Randy Roberts, a Pittsburgh native who teaches history at Purdue and has edited a book on Pittsburgh sports. "They will not turn on you as fast as Philly fans. Sure, there are examples where they boo people, the way they did with Terry Bradshaw early on. But generally they are good and loyal fans."
