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AP Photo/Getty ImagesThe Bronx Bombers and the Phillies are doing battle, but King Kong and Rocky are keys to the cities.

This year's World Series between the defending-champion Phillies and the resurgent Yankees offers teams from cities with world views, histories and legacies that couldn't be more different. That is, once you remove the common element of the borderline-clinical, obsessive-compulsive fan base.

In the event that you belong to neither group of partisans and are wondering which city to cheer on, consider the following blatantly unscientific analysis of each baseball-mad metropolis. Then make your own call.

Tale of the tape

Official motto

Philadelphia: "Philadelphia maneto" (Let brotherly love endure.)

New York: None. Other cities do that kind of thing. Lots of informal mottoes, including, "I got your motto right here, pal."

Famous movie moment

Philadelphia: Sylvester Stallone charging up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art in "Rocky." (Yes, he's a Phillies fan.)

New York: King Kong swats away fighter planes atop a skyscraper, but gets distracted by the girl -- or perhaps by Yankee Stadium in the distance.

Iconic food

Philadelphia: Philly cheesesteak, officially described by food scholars as "frizzled beef, onions and cheese in a small loaf of bread." If you don't know how to "frizzle" beef, you must be from out of town.

New York: New York City-style pizza, distinct (I can tell you for sure) by virtue of its thin crust and wide, foldable slices.

Tribal narrative

Philadelphia: "We don't get no respect." (Especially vehement in reference to New Yorkers.)

New York: "If you can make it here, you'll make it anywhere." Nearly 220 years as the nation's largest city and 40 pennants to back up the hubris. (This season's was the first in six years, representing the fourth-longest pennant drought in franchise history.)

Former capital of the United States?

Philadelphia: Yes, while Washington, D.C., was under construction. Plus, there's the whole Independence Hall/Declaration of Independence thing.

New York: Yes, and don't you forget it. George Washington was inaugurated there.

Fondly remembered founding father associated with the city

Philadelphia: Benjamin Franklin. Pretty much everyone loved him, unless you count close family members. Sounds modern enough to me.

New York: Alexander Hamilton. He founded the New York Post. Oh, and a little old financial company called The Bank of New York.

Celebrity fans with local ties who probably already have tickets

Philadelphia: Will Smith, Kevin Eubanks, Joe Biden.

New York: Spike Lee, Donald Trump, Billy Crystal, Rudy Giuliani and, of course, A-Rod's girlfriend, Kate Hudson.

Baseball pedigree

Philadelphia: Impeccable. The team has been in Philadelphia for 127 years and, according to the Phillies' Web site, is "the oldest, continuous one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional sports." Legendarily tough-to-please fans now find themselves disoriented, inasmuch as the Phillies are returning to the World Series as defending champs. What are they going to do if they win? Drop the Rodney Dangerfield act, I guess. Stay tuned.

New York: You have to ask? It's untouchable and arguably infused with more drama, triumph and history than any other professional franchise. The Yankees (their partisans insist) are back at the pinnacle of sport where they rightfully belong. They boast new talent, a new stadium, new focus, new leadership. But basically they are telling a very old story: big payroll, big talent.

Robert Tuchman is an executive vice president of Premiere Sports Travel, a travel, hospitality and marketing services enterprise based in New York City. He is the author of "100 Sporting Events You Must See Live."