One of the most controversial aspects in the history of sports is the debate over the better sports city, Boston or New York. These two cities have a history of tension over their teams. Yankees vs. Red Sox is possibly the biggest rivalry in all of sports. The debate on the more loyal sports fans and/or the better overall sports city is blowing up on social media. Who will win out of the big two, New York or Boston?

New York, the Empire State. Being a New York sports fan, there are very minimal things that you can complain about. To start there are a total of 13 professional sports teams in New York with the most statewide championships by a long shot with 57 total world championships. Most people would argue with the fact that New York has the most teams. But only one city as a whole has more championships through all of their professional teams than New York’s baseball teams alone (which is only 2 teams opposed to 5 in Boston).

In baseball alone New York starts off with arguably the best sports franchise ever with the New York Yankees. The Yankees all-time record against the Red Sox is 1,234-1,013. Throughout roughly 2,225 games, the Yankees have simply dominated over the years. The simple argument to this would be that they were only really good in baseball nearly a century ago. But the record between the two teams since 2000 is still 227-188 Yankees. On the other hand, as the Mets are slightly in the shadow of one of the greatest to ever do it, they are still historically a high quality franchise. Recently they have been very good as well. Championships between these two cities in baseball alone is 29-8 in favor of New York.

In football, New York is a jam-packed state. Throughout the years, this state has had normally consistent teams over time. The Giants have been the most consistent football team in New York with four Super Bowl championships including two of them against the Patriots. On the Bills side of things, recently, they have made a huge leap beating the Patriots in 6 of their last 7 times playing, and have been in Super Bowl contention every year in the 2020s. Although there have been rough years of football in New York just like any other city, fans are still always loyal and always rooting for their teams.

In basketball, New York has been starting to improve. The New York Knicks and and Brooklyn Nets are always a force to be reckoned with, especially in the 70s and 80s. The Empire State has always been a state of consistency producing great teams year in and year out without failure. With only a total of two championships, basketball in New York is starting to trend upward.

Finally, the last sport I would like to highlight is hockey. A very neck-and-neck sport between both cities, the Rangers and Islanders are both great hockey teams. To start the Islanders won four Stanley Cups in a row, the second longest stretch by any team in the history of hockey. Simply dominating the early 1980s, the Islanders went on a stretch of dominance from 1980-1983. Next the Rangers also contributing to four Stanley Cups. This team is one of the most well-known organizations ever in sports. Rangers fans are incredibly loyal and true due to many winning seasons as a franchise. Coming in at 8-6, New York has more NHL Stanley Cups than Boston.

The standards set for sports teams in New York are very high. Fans have an expectation of excellence and success while doing it with class. Facts don’t lie and throughout the big four sports: baseball, football, basketball, and hockey, New York has 44 championships to Boston’s 38. Facts don’t lie, and for many, including me, the Big Apple and New York state itself is known as the greatest sports city/state in the country, and will continue to dominate in all sports for eternity.

On the other hand, Boston is the best sports city in America. Starting off with the Celtics. They are tied for the most NBA championships at 17. They have the greatest rivalry in the sport. The Celtics and Lakers have met 12 times in the NBA Finals. They are one of the most storied franchises in the NBA and play at one of the most historic arenas in the NBA and also the NHL. The Lakers are probably the most known team in the NBA, but the Celtics are a very close second and if you know the Lakers, you know the Celtics.

Staying on the topic of the TD Garden, the next team up is the Boston Bruins. The Bruins are without a doubt one of the best franchises and most know teams in the NHL. They have won the Stanley Cup six times and are one of the biggest markets in professional hockey. The Bruins are consistently ranked near the top of the power rankings each year and have a long history of doing so.

Senior Jaiden Dunlap spoke about which city he thinks is the better sports city.

“New York has the bigger fan bases, but Boston teams just win more consistently,” Jaiden said. “Both cities have jerks as fans. The Patriots and Celtics are always at the top of the power rankings each year with the exception of a few.”

Moving on the the baseball side of things, the Boston Red Sox. A similar situation to the Celtics and Lakers, we have the Red Sox and Yankees. These two teams are the oldest and most known around America. The Sox play in the most famous sports venue in all of America. Fenway Park in Boston is the oldest active venue in all professional sports across America. The stadium has been standing since 1912 and one of the sport’s greatest franchise is home to the park. The Red Sox have won nine World Series and have been around as long as anyone.

Now for football. Without question the greatest dynasty to ever form on a football field, the New England Patriots. They are tied for first place with the Steelers with six Super Bowl Rings. The Pats had the greatest dynasty from 2002 all the way to 2019, including three Super Bowl wins from 2015 to 2019. The Pats have been the league’s dominant team for two decades, and they won those six Super Bowls with the most famous player in NFL history, Tom Brady. Everyone knows who Tom Brady is and he earned that with his winning success with the Patriots. They also have one of the best coaches in the sports history, that being Bill Belichick.

These four teams combine make for the best and most popular sports city in America. Boston ranks number two in America with 40 major championships. But I believe they are better because of their recent success. Over the past two decades Boston has been the most consistent winning city in America. I believe this has to be taken into account because football, basketball, baseball, and hockey have all changed dramatically over these past 20 years. Sports back then are nowhere near the same game as before. With that being said Boston teams have adapted the most and have had more success than any other city as a whole.