Collier's Corner
Symmetry of Champions
By Sean Collier

There's a certain symmetry to things, now that Pittsburgh has claimed its third Stanley Cup. Pittsburgh-again bearing the City of Champions name-has been winning titles for an even 100 years. That first title, in 1909, sounds awfully familiar - Pittsburgh won Game 7 at Detroit despite being the heavy underdog going into the series. The teams were the Pirates and Tigers, of course; the hero, Honus Wagner, the villain, Ty Cobb. An even century later, the same story again, with pucks for balls, Hossa for Cobb and Malkin for Wagner.

There are other little quirks one can find in Pittsburgh's title history - the fact that all three of our hometown clubs have won a title in the Motor City, for instance, or the fact that no team in any sport had won a Game 7 on the road since the '79 Pirates did it at Baltimore (Pittsburgh seems to enjoy being the long shot). All in all, a total of 14 titles now - six Super Bowls, five World Series and three Stanley Cups.

Certainly an impressive record. However, I began thinking about the validity of the "City of Champions" claim. Other cities have more titles, after all; the Yankees alone nearly double the championship total of all three 'Burgh franchises, to say nothing of the rest of New York's clubs. The Canadiens have won a staggering 24 Stanley Cups, and the 49ers have never lost a Super Bowl. Other cities claim titles with more frequency, across more teams and more sports; can we really back this up?

Well, let's go to the scoreboard, shall we?

The Pirates have compiled a 5-2 record in the Fall Classic, good for a Series winning percentage of .714. Among teams with at least three appearances, this is the best mark in baseball (the Yankees are second with a .667 record.) In the Super Bowl, the Steelers have a stellar 6-1 record; again, among teams with at least three bowl appearances, their .857 winning percentage is second only to San Francisco's 5-0 run. And the Pens are now 3-1 in Cup Finals, a .750 mark, second in the NHL behind the Islanders' 4-1 record (again, excluding teams that have only been to the finals once or twice).

Obviously, I'm doing some statistical gymnastics here, but the point is this: when given the opportunity to take a title, Pittsburgh almost always succeeds. Overall, the record of our teams in their respective championships is a dominant 14-4, for a combined winning percentage of .777. It's tricky to compare this to other cities, with franchises coming and going far more often elsewhere than here; however, a cursory attempt to tally up records for other towns reveals that no one else is even close.

Again, it depends on how you count 'em, but I can't find any way that any other city's combined championship winning percentage is even at .600 - let alone pushing Pittsburgh's .777.

It's easy to get bogged down in history, circumstance, and impact when discussing these matters, but I think there's a safe conclusion in all this. Pittsburgh is better at winning championships, when given the chance, than any other city. Let us play, and we'll probably win. When we don't, we'll get back up and win again soon, like our Pens in Detroit. Once, now, and again in the future, this is the City of Champions.