OyChicago blog

Those of you that tuned in to my post last month were treated to an un-OY-fficial match up of DC vs. Chicago. In a tight race, I graciously called it a draw between the Gem of the Midwest and the Jewel of the Mid-Atlantic. Stephen Richer of Gather the Jews, a DC based website, brought on a full challenge to my results, claiming DC as the definitive winner to this civic battle. Richer gave DC ten extra points out of 10 categories! Frankly, I could easily pick apart most of his analysis, but there is no need, because I can easily come up with nine more categories where Chicago bests DC proving it to be at least as good a city:

1. Chicago is sportier: Chicago has won more major sports championships than any other U.S. city besides L.A. and New York. DC did not even make the top 10! And for those of you that want to dis the Cubs (who won all of their championships over 100 years ago,more people came out to see the Cubs lose last year than to see the National’s win.

2. Chicago is tougher on the weather:According to this article from President Obama’s first winter in Chicago, he dissed DC at a press conference for being a little too quick to cancel school on account of a little bit of ice. Chicago knows winter and knows how to handle it!

3. Chicago is worldlier: So the Bureau of Expositions has sanctioned over 50 official World Expositions, since 1850. Two have been in Chicago (1893 Columbian and 1933 Century of Progress). Zero have been in Washington… well, not totally true. In 1974 SPOKANE, Washington hosted one. How does it feel to be bested by SPOKANE, DC!

4. Chicago is Nobel-er!: So nobelprize.org allows you to sort Nobel Prize laureates into all kinds of lists. So I compared DC area winners with Chicago area winners. Based on the institutions associated with the winners: Chicago=20 and DC=7. Richer went to the University of Chicago, so when it comes to education, he should know that University of Chicago alone claims 16 Nobel Prizes awards for smarty-ness!

5. Chicago is well guided!: I had the unfortunate experience to hop onto a DC Double Decker Bus tour only to find that the tour was delivered by a well scripted RECORDING! When I worked for Chicago Trolley and Double Decker we always had live tour guides showing the sights and sharing the stories on top of the bus. DC=Fail here!

6. Chicago is funnier!: Chicago takes this category hands down. Second City, IO Chicago, the Annoyance are all Chicago originals featuring some of the funniest. Tina Fey, Tim Meadows, Chris Farley, Amy Pholer all trained in Chicago’s finest comedy venues.

7. Chicago is safer!: According to the most reliable source on statistics-the Movies , Chicago is safer. DC is the 3rd most destroyed city in movie history, while Chicago is the 9th. By that rationale, you are more likely to wake up to an alien invasion or zombie apocalypse in DC than Chicago! Stay safe and stay in Chicago.

8. Chicago is better represented: Illinois has 2 senators and 19 congressmen (13 of which are Chicago area districts). How many voting representatives in DC? ZERO! The license plates in DC read - “Taxation Without Representation” for a reason!

9. Chicago is bigger!: More people and more city! And as everyone knows, size does matter!

For those of you that have been keeping score, this battle between two writers trying to come up with random factoid about two cities is tied once again. Let’s face it, we could go back and forth like this forever. For the sake of our readers on the shores of Lake Michigan and the banks of the Potomac alike, it might be best if we just admit that both cities have their pros and cons and that we all sleep better knowing that at least neither one is as expensive as New York!