It’s hard to argue with the recent success of Boston’s sports teams. But proclaiming it the best sports city in the world may be a little hasty. Typically Boston is linked to New York City when such comparisons come up. That’s a mistake. In terms of winning traditions, for the most part Gotham falls short.

Other than the Yankees, the last major championship won by a New York team was the Rangers’ Stanley Cup victory in 1994. The Giants brought home the last Super Bowl in 1991.

But there is another city, thousands of miles away from Fenway Park and Gillette Stadium that deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Boston.

It’s impossible to not immediately think about the Los Angeles Lakers when someone mentions the Celtics. The Lakers-Celtics rivalry is one of the greatest in all of sports.

It’s only fitting that L.A. should vie with Boston for honors as the best sports city.

In the last five years, L.A. teams have accounted for three NBA Championships (Lakers, 2000 – 2002), a World Series (Anaheim Angels, 2002), and the now two-time defending NCAA football champs, the University of Southern California Trojans. L.A. more than holds its own in terms of recent championships.

Historically, it does a good job as well. The Lakers are second to the Celtics in terms of NBA titles, having won nine in Los Angeles (they won five additional titles when the franchise was based in Minneapolis). Furthermore, the last Celtics championship came in 1986. The Lakers have won five since then.

While the Red Sox were suffering through their 85-year “curse,” the Los Angeles Dodgers took home five World Series titles. Who can forget a gimpy Kirk Gibson’s pinch-hit, game-winning home run off seemingly invincible Oakland A’s closer Dennis Eckersley to win game one of the 1988 World Series? It’s probably one of the greatest moments in baseball history.

As far as dynasties go, while Boston fans have the Celtics’ remarkable run of 11 championships in 13 years, Los Angeles has its own. Between 1964 and 1975, the UCLA Bruins, coached by the legendary John Wooden, won 10 of 12 NCAA men’s basketball championships.

While Los Angeles easily has the championships to match the pedigree of Boston, I will say that their fans’ passion does not compare to their counterparts in Massachusetts.

The apathy of the sports fans in Los Angeles is almost as great as the legacy of its teams. That apathy ran off two NFL franchises, the Rams and the Raiders, in the 1990s. The running joke about Dodgers fans is that they show up in the second inning and leave in the seventh. Lakers fans are notorious for their fair-weather allegiance.

But if you think Boston is the pinnacle of fan passion, then I direct your attention to a small town located in Wisconsin.

While the New England Patriots are the modern day NFL dynasty, the Green Bay Packers were the first. Every year, the Lombardi Trophy is awarded to the Super Bowl winning team. It is named for Vince Lombardi, the legendary Packers coach, winner of the first two Super Bowls.

Green Bay boasts a population of over a little over 100,000. Yet eight Sundays every fall, Lambeau Field is filled with over 70,000 of the most passionate sports fans imaginable.

Part of that reason is that among those in the stadium are probably quite a few of the team owners. Unlike most sports franchises, the Packers aren’t owned by some billionaire, or a group of super-rich investors. They are a publicly traded, non-profit corporation, with over 110,000 fans owning a piece of the team.

Now that’s passion.