Boston vs. San Francisco: How the cities compare (East Coast version)

The Bay Area News Group staff was not the only one to tally up the relative merits of the NBA Finals’ host cities; our counterparts at the Boston Herald did the same. Read their rulings below, and compare them to the West Coast view.

San Francisco is known for the Golden Gate Bridge, cable cars and earthquakes.

Boston? Where do we start? We’re home to “the British are coming,” Faneuil Hall, Fenway Park, the Garden, the Common, colleges galore and hospital row.

The Celtics and Warriors are in the NBA Finals so we thought we’d compare the two home cities to see who wins.

Best Cop Drama

Boston: “Spenser for Hire,” based on Robert B. Parker’s novels.

San Fran: “Streets of San Francisco,” starring a young Michael Douglas.

Winner: Boston, because Robert Parker was amazing.

Best Sitcom

Boston: “Cheers,” starring Ted Danson, Shelley Long, Woody Harrelson, George Wendt and Kelsey Grammer along with Rhea Perlman.

San Fran: “Full House,” starring Bob Saget, John Stamos, Lori Loughlin and the Olsen sisters.

Winner: Boston, of course. Plus, Lori Loughlin may have served her time in a West Coast prison, but she was found guilty here in Boston in the “Varsity Blues” scandal.

Best Starch

Boston: Baked beans

San Fran: Rice a Roni

Winner: Nice jingle, but beans give you plenty of protein, too, so we win.

Best City Movie:

Boston: “The Departed,” or “The Town”

San Fran: “The Rock”

Winner: Boston, by a mile. Sean Connery is OK, but both Hub flicks are authentic.

Best seafood:

Boston: Clam chowder

San Fran: John Steinbeck’s sardines

Winner: Us, again. “Cannery Row” is a classic, but chowder is a meal in a bowl. Plus, it goes well with beer.

Best Beer:

Boston: Sam Adams

San Fran: Anchor Steam

Winner: Tie. We’ll need to try Anchor Steam, but many swear by it.

Must-Get Baked Good:

Boston: Cannolis

San Fran: Sourdough

Winner: Not even close! A cannoli from the North End and coffee will make any day delightful.

Bridge

Boston: Zakim

San Fran: Golden Gate

Winner: OK, we must concede the Zakim lights up beautifully but the Golden Gate is iconic.

Bad Guy:

Boston: Whitey Bulger

San Fran: Zodiac killer

Winner: Both are nightmares, but we’ll let Frisco win this one.

Classic Sports Hero

Boston: Bill Russell

San Fran: Willie Mays

Winner: Tie. Both are legends.

Modern-day Sports Hero

Boston: Larry Bird, Tom Brady

San Fran: Joe Montana

Winner: Boston. Look for Jayson Tatum to join this list after the Celtics crush the Warriors. Plus, the 49ers dropped Montana! Bird retired here and Brady left on his own.

Politician

Boston: Liz Warren, Ted Kennedy

San Fran: Nancy Pelosi

Winner: We both lose

Favorite saying

Boston: Wicked

San Fran: Not sure

Winner: How can you beat wicked? It works for all occasions

Best Band

Boston: Aerosmith

San Fran: Grateful Dead

Winner: This is a tough one. Tie. Keep truckin’

Best signature song