The worn industrial town, where, since 1997, the Eagles have trained to increasingly large gatherings at Lehigh University, is just 50 miles from Center City.
Yet in terms of the differences in civic temperaments, Bethlehem might as well be Bali.
While Philly's pacifist Quaker roots have subsided beneath centuries of civic cynicism and its citizens' infamous "atty-tood," Bethlehem, for the most part, has managed to cling to the mellow spirit of its Moravian founders - German immigrants whose five touchstones for a good life are simplicity, service, fellowship, unintrusiveness and happiness.
"I think you continue to see the Moravian influence here," said Smith, a student of the area and its traditions. "Their religious focus seems to be on being more joyful, on a love of music. There's not that Calvinist emphasis on sin and guilt.
"And among the Pennsylvania Germans, there's always been this strain of conservatism. They like their farms, their land, their food. They tend to be pleasant people, not highly competitive."
Billy Packer, the retired television basketball analyst, grew up here. His father, Tony, coached at Lehigh. In April, Packer, who was born Anthony William Paczkowski, explained in basketball terms what made his hometown special.
"A college guy helped you while you were in high school," Packer said, according to the Allentown Morning Call. "A high school guy helped you while you were in junior high and a junior high guy would help you while you were in grade school. It was amazing how the adults helped the kids and gave them an opportunity to learn from people that you respected."
Bethlehem, of course, isn't the perfectly content commune those first settlers envisioned 260-plus years ago. Unemployment is a major issue in this city of 72,000, and in 2007 there was a spike in murders, from two to six.
