Chicago vs. Boston: How we match up

With the Bruins and Blackhawks facing off in the Stanley Cup final beginning Wednesday night, Boston and Chicago add another chapter in their storied postseason history against one another, and things haven’t exactly always ended up going Boston’s way. The Red Sox lost to the White Sox in the 2005 American League division series, and the Bears made the Patriots’ first trip to the Super Bowl a memorable one all right (a 46-10 trouncing), but then again, there was that World Series against the Cubs — in 1918. When it comes to everyday life, however, Boston and Chicago are pretty similar. Here’s how the cities stack up in a variety of categories.

According to Travel and Leisure magazine, which utilized data from its annual “America’s Favorite Cities’’ survey to face the two cities off against one another, Chicago came out on top overall, though Boston dominated in the intelligence, history, and ice cream categories. No surprise, Chicago beat Boston when it came to pizza and the music scene.

Overall, Boston did come out ahead though in the following categories: People, types of local trips, nightlife, shopping, restaurants, and quality of life.

Of course, the most recent time Boston and Chicago went head-to-head was during the 2012 presidential election, which pitted Chicago’s Barack Obama against former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney. During his memorable speech following the Marathon bombings in April, Obama did refer to Boston sports teams being back on top “much to the chagrin’’ of fans from Boston and Chicago. Have to imagine he’s still rooting for his hometown team though.

80’s sitcoms. Chicago had “Perfect Strangers.’’ Boston had “Cheers.’’ Winner? As Balki would say, “Don’t be ridiculous.’’ Boston in a rout.

OK, so Chicago may dye its river green to show off Irish pride around St. Patrick’s Day, but who likes to drink the green beer anyway? It’s all a little too showy, if you ask us. Chicago has a greater number of people of Irish descent than Boston — an estimated 201,693 to Boston’s 98,441 according to US Census data — but it still plays second fiddle to New York City in Irish population size. Chicago’s total population is also nearly four times the size of Boston’s. In this case, Southie rules.

Nicknames: Beantown. The Windy City. There are no winners here.

Both cities have unique ballpark features. Boston has its Green Monster at Fenway Park. Chicago has its famed ivy on the outfield walls at Wrigley Field. Both have famous watering holes. Fenway has the Cask and Flagon, Chicago has the Cubby Bear. Both cities have baseball TV announcers with their names on food and drink establishments. Boston has Jerry Remy’s Sports Bar and Grill, Chicago has Harry Carray’s, which is an upscale Italian steak house. Michael Jordan has a steak house in Chicago too, and since Larry Bird won’t be opening one anytime soon, this showdown goes to Chicago.

Talk show hosts: Chicago gave us Oprah. Boston delivered Elisabeth Hasselbeck. No offense, Liz, but the Midwest takes this one with ease.

Both cities have vibrant arts scenes. In Boston, whether you’re at Symphony Hall or the MFA, the culture of the region is evident, and the same can be true in Chicago, notable for its jazz and blues scenes.

According to the 2012 Mercer Human Resource Consulting Quality of Living Survey, both Chicago and Boston are considered to be among the world’s best for quality of living. Boston ranked 35th in the latest survey, while Chicago wasn’t far behind at No. 42. No. 1 in this year’s survey was Vienna.

Deep dish pizza vs. clam chowder? This isn’t really a question, is it?

Chicago has been good to Boston this year. On the day after the Marathon bombings, the Chicago Tribune sports section paid tribute to the city’s athletic teams as a sign of solidarity. The front-page illustration read, “We are like you. We know that sports are often the ties that hold us together, that give us a way to talk about the things we care about when other words fail. We know sports can be fun — even in losing. Boys, do we know. We know that anybody who says it doesn’t matter whether the Cubs or Sox are in the World Series so long as it’s a Chicago team isn’t truly a fan of either team. We know. But on Monday, we were reminded again how fragile it all can be. The explosions and injuries and death at a world-class sporting event such as the Boston Marathon makes us heartsick. As much as it is anathema for a Chicago fan to root for any other town — especially Beantown and all of its championship rings — here we are. Hang in there, Boston.”

That sort of makes it hard to dislike Chicago, doesn’t it? Suppose we’ll always have Super Bowl XX to fall back on.