40 years ago today, a small film was released. It was a film that no studio particularly wanted to make, least of all with its unknown, struggling screenwriter in the starring role. It was a film that spoke to every single underdog who gave it their best shot. It was a film that spoke to American spirit of never giving up, no matter how stacked the odds may seem. It was a film that would go on to win three Academy Awards -- including Best Picture and Best Director. It was a film that was spawn an enduring 40-year franchise and give birth to an indelible title character.
Rocky.
I've always considered myself an underdog. Perhaps that underdog spirit was ingrained in me at a young age, maybe even before I knew what it was. The character of Rocky Balboa is the underdog for every person who's ever felt like a nobody, a loser, or like they just needed their one shot at their dreams. Rocky Balboa is the voice for the voiceless who feel they deserve their "shot", but cannot find that voice within themselves. Rocky Balboa is a heart of gold encased in a rough exterior; coarse edges with what is perhaps not the most eloquent delivery at times. Rocky Balboa is the wrinkled, favorite t-shirt in a room full of neatly pressed dress shirts and ties.
I am Rocky Balboa.
The first time I met Rocky Balboa, I was a mere 3yrs old. My parents took me to see my first big-screen movie in a movie theater -- Rocky IV -- at the old Barn Theater in my hometown of Frenchtown, NJ. Maybe it was the fact that the screen itself may as well have been 30 feet high or that my parents had hyped up the experience that I would be seeing "a really big TV" (but I had to be very quiet during the movie) . . . but I was instantly hooked. Of course, sitting atop my parents piled-up coats, I wound up falling asleep. Though my memory is fuzzy of that experience, I do remember key scenes from the film and, of course, that soundtrack! Almost immediately after seeing Rocky IV, I remember my mom buying me the soundtrack on cassette -- something I played almost exclusively and literally wore out from so many plays!
From that point on, Rocky Balboa was a personal hero of mine -- along with Indiana Jones, Mr. T. and, later, Freddy Krueger. I had the Rocky and Clubber Lang action figures from Rocky III, as well as some strange erasure-like rubber figures of Rocky and Drago from Rocky IV. Whenever a Rocky movie was on TV, I'd watch; though at that young age, they all kinda blended into one film. As I grew older, the Rocky films sort of got buried in my totem of fandom and, strangely, became a sort of embarrassment for me...to the point where I remember playing the Rocky IV soundtrack for a friend and lying to him that it was some sort of Christian Rock!
In 1990, I clearly remember seeing local news stories out of Philadelphia while Rocky V was filming and my dad clipping and saving newspaper articles for me about how Sylvester Stallone was going to kill off the character in a street-fight at the end of the film! Philadelphia was pretty close to home and I begged and begged my parents to take me down their while they were filming, but it never happened. Even when the film was released, for some odd reason, we didn't go see it in the theater! Instead, I wound up catching most of it on Request Pay-Per-View (the first 10 or so minutes in perfect condition and the remainder of it through a scrambled signal like the Playboy channel!). Again, not really sure why I didn't just rent the VHS when it came out!
Again, Philadelphia wasn't too far from where I grew up and, as a kid, my parents would often take me into the city to visit the Franklin Institute or other various museums. We'd almost always find ourselves driving by the Philadelphia Museum of Art at some point, but I never had the chance to get out and run up the stairs like my hero!
In 1996, the original Rocky celebrated its 20th anniversary and I recall a great deal of fanfare at the local Suncoast video as all five movies were re-released in a snazzy new VHS boxset. I shrugged at such a release and moved on, ultimately feeling that maybe I'd outgrown the character.
In the summer of 1999, I enrolled in a Video Production workshop class at the Art Institute of Philadelphia. It was basically a week-long summer camp and we were housed in the Freshman dorms of Drexel University. Early in that week, I'd heard that there was a free movie screening of Rocky actually ON the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art! After some asking around, I managed to get approval to get some of us together and pile into a cab to head over to the screening! Watching Rocky at that place, while sitting on those steps, surrounded by Philly locals was an absolute treat! Naturally, the crowd exploded when Rocky actually runs up the steps. Although the famous Rocky statue first introduced in Rocky III was no longer at the museum, there was a cool little plague with Stallone's Chuck Taylor footprints commemorating the film and character at the top of the steps!
In 2000, I graduated high school and started at a local community college. At the same time, I also started working a video store where I quickly re-acclimated myself with the Rocky series, as any one of them were my sort of "go-to" movies to put on while at work. On 9/11/01, though I wasn't scheduled to work, I ended up coming in so that my boss could take some time off and reach out to his loved ones. That night, I played Rocky IV on repeat as its sense of American pride and spirit spoke to me and brought comfort on that horrible day.
By this point, I'd say I was pretty much a full-fledge Rocky fan once again and I didn't care who knew it. By now, I'd manage to not only investigate, apply, get accepted to, and start classes at Rutgers University, but I was also the first in my family to do so. I was determined to be the first to graduate from college and, not unlike a certain down-on-his-luck boxer from Philadelphia, it was all a million to one shot in my eyes.
In 2005, Stallone announced the release of a mens' health book he had written called Sly Moves and that he was to embark on a book signing tour across the country. Somehow, I'd heard that he would be in New York at Barnes & Nobel and I decided that I needed to be there. After a train ride that seemed to take forever a short cab ride, I found myself walking towards the end of a line that never seemed to end, stretching across multiple city blocks. "There's no way this is gonna happen," I thought to myself. The entire afternoon, as I waited, there seemed to be a sense that NOT everyone would get in and get a book signed. Of course, as soon as I got there, I grabbed up two copies of the book in the hopes that I'd get them signed. Sure enough, once the signing started, the line started moving and continued at a brisk pace. Before I knew it, there I was....inside the store and Stallone was mere feet away from me. I couldn't believe it that right there was a man whom I'd looked up to for as long as I could remember. [Just thinking about it while writing this is making me tear up actually - ED] I could really use some of that Rocky spirit to push me through my remaining time at Rutgers towards graduation in 2006! We were given the following instructions: no personalized autographs and no photos with Stallone. Fair enough. Next thing I knew, a worker grabbed my books, opened them to their title pages, and placed them on the table that Stallone was signing at in front of me.
My eyes were huge with amazement as the man sat there, not 5 feet from me, signing and looking up at the hundreds of fans in line. My books were up and I immediately thought to myself "I have to take advantage of this moment...."
"Thanks Sly." It just blurted out. I don't even know how I managed to get those two words out.
He looked up after signing my books and looked right at me with his crooked smile of his.
"You're welcome."
Goosebumps. [Then, and of course even now as I relive the memory 11 years later! - ED]
Throughout the series, Rocky had Apollo Creed, Clubber Lang, Ivan Drago, and Tommy Morrison.....I had Math. Math has always been my greatest and toughest opponent, often pounding me into defeat and tears of frustration and heartbreak. Throughout 2005, I worked my ass off trying to finish school and potentially graduate in December of that year, earlier than expected. I literally did a bunch of classes in the Spring '05 semester, took some during the Summer semester, and then loaded up again in the Fall. One of those classes that Fall was an uncredited Math course -- the second of which were required for my English Literature major. The rest of my courses were a breeze; sitting in hours-long lectures? Writing 20+ page papers? I didn't bother me. In fact, my grades in those courses were great as a matter of fact! That Math class was all that was standing between me and "the title" of Graduation. I'll never forget going into my Math final pretty much knowing that I was defeated...there was no way I could pass as my back was against the wall and the bell wasn't gonna save me this time. I was done.
Right before Christmas that year, I got my grades and, low and behold, I failed that Math class. Surprisingly not by much...but I still failed and my fate was sealed in terms of an early graduation. That day, I immediately signed up to retake the class during the Spring semester. As I was reeling from the defeat, literally my life played out like the scenes following Mickey's death in Rocky III; I was mopey and needed some motivation. As it turned out, Stallone was actually in Philadelphia filming Rocky Balboa, and so in January 2006, with a good buddy of mine, I set out to the city to see if maybe I could find the production and maybe catch a glimpse of my hero again.
Our first stop was the Sports Complex where the Rocky statute had been housed (when it wasn't in storage) after the filming of Rocky V. As it turned out, the Philadelphia Museum of Art deemed the statue to be a mere movie prop, not fit to be on their property, so it had be moved to the more fitting Sports Complex near the Philadelphia Spectrum [RIP - ED]. It was a sight to behold as I suddenly found myself face to face with the Rocky statue! To some, yes, it was a mere film prop symbolizing a franchise to (at least in the eyes of many) progressively went down in quality. To me, though, it was a symbol of hope...a beacon of strength even...telling me that I could do this. Shouting at me, as Mickey told Rocky in Rocky V "Get up, you son of a bitch!"
Soon after, we headed for the Philadelphia Museum of Art to see the steps. Now, going into it, I'd see hundreds of people run up and do the "Rocky dance" tons of times. I probably even did it myself the first time I went there in '99 (though it was probably a little more subdued as I was around people I didn't really know, ya know?). This time though...all bets were off. Aside from two fellow sight-seeing fans that we ran into early at the Spectrum, no one else was around. I remember walking up with every ounce of baggage about my seemingly crushed dream on my shoulders....and then I darted up those steps with every ounce of energy I had in me.
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| This pic here sits at my desk at work, reminding me that I can beat any odds. |
When classes started back up, I reacted to this final Math class in a way that I never had before; with no fear and no pain. I made sure that I either sat in the first or second row directly in front of the teacher's desk. I made sure that I asked at least one question about the previous night's assignment; ensuring a discussion and How To was done for at least one problem I may have been struggling with. When it came time to do my homework each night, I did not just once...but at least two or three times in a row. However many Math problems -- fractions, equations, word problems (my toughest opponent probably) or whatever the hell I was doing -- I'd do 'em all multiple times to ensure they were engrained in my brain! For each test leading up to the Final, I received the best Math scores of my entire school life! It was working. I had the Eye of the Tiger! In fact, just before going in to take my Final, I vividly remember cramming one last study session in one of the commissaries. I was cranking the Rocky IV soundtrack through my iPod, psyching myself up to go in and give everything I had...one...last....time.
I passed with a strong score, effectively acing the class this time! And, in May of 2006, I became the first person in my family to graduate from college. It's a moment that I'll never forget and a win that I will cherish forever. Not only did I pass the class and graduate, I also made the Dean's List either my second to last or final semester; another feat which I believed to be an impossible goal! Much like how all of the Rocky films end with a freeze-frame, capturing that film's absolute peek moment for the character....that is how I will remember my time at Rutgers University.
December of 2006 saw the release of Rocky Balboa, a film that many scoffed at the mere idea of. Stallone himself met such opposition in getting the film made that it seemed as though he were facing an incredible opponent the likes of which Rocky himself had never seen before! Left and right, people were telling Stallone "No" and "you can't do this" . . . much like I had experienced throughout my atypical journey to and through Rutgers as a matter of fact. When I saw the film on its opening day, I remember getting choked up and sobbing as it's revealed that Adrian has passed away and Rocky had very little left aside from a restaurant named after his late wife and his old pal Paulie, who was still stuck in the same dead-end job he'd been in 30 years prior in the original film. Seeing the character of Rocky break down and speak about "some stuff in the basement" and a "beast" inside of him that needed to get out....it was powerful stuff that I easily connected with on almost every level. It was truly a remarkable film and a fitting cap to an inspirational film series.
In 2014, my youngest cousin got married in Philadelphia and my wife and I traveled back home to visit my family and attend the wedding. The day before we headed home, we made a pilgrimage to several filming locations from the series in South Philly...namely, the area where Mighty Mick's gym, J & M Tropical Fish (Adrian's pet shop) and Andy's Bar from Rocky V exist. We also hit Rocky's apartment (and street) which isn't actually too far from these locations. Gotta admit, visiting these locations was incredibly awe-inspiring and just as moving as standing at the top of the "Rocky steps" in '06!
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| Yo, how ya doin' Mick? |
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| J & M Tropical Fish...long since closed up. |
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| This is pretty much the site of the street fight in Rocky V. |
Of course, nearly a decade after Rocky Balboa, Stallone would once again revisit the Rocky character one last time (in fact, pretty much every single Rocky sequel was supposed to be "the last time") in a very different film called Creed. Here, Rocky was more of a supporting character, finally at peace with his past and his fighting career effectively in his rear-view mirror. He lives a somewhat lonely, quiet life outlined by daily routines of ordering/delivering food for his restaurant and visiting the cemetery where he visits the side-by-side graves of Adrian and her brother Paulie. Into the mix though, comes Adonis Creed, the illegitimate son of Rocky's one time rival and best friend, the late Apollo Creed. Rocky reluctantly agrees to train young Donnie, only to face his own toughest opponent yet: Cancer.
I'm not ashamed to admit it: when Rocky first receives his Cancer diagnosis and refuses treatment (Adrian died of "woman Cancer" as Rocky calls it, despite going through various treatments herself), I was a blubbering mess. I went into Creed essentially believing that Stallone would finally kill off the Rocky character, as his story had pretty much reached its apex. I'd come to terms with that very real possibility, believing that I'd have to say goodbye someone -- although fictional -- who has been both inspirational and friend-like for my entire life. [for those of you who haven't yet seen Creed, you didn't really think I was gonna spoil the ending did you? - ED]
Today, when I watch a Rocky movie or listen to any soundtrack from the series, it's ON as far as I'm concerned. I get hyped up to take on whatever challenge is in front of me. I'm inspired to kick as much ass as I can and give my entire heart to whatever task is ahead. Or, I just feel like fighting people! Hey, Eddie Murphy wasn't lying about what happens when we see Rocky!
So, it is with this . . . me spilling my Rocky story, that I say a heartfelt THANK YOU to Sylvester Stallone for not just writing a screenplay and creating a character. With the original Rocky (and its sequels), Stallone birthed a symbol for hopes, dreams, and success. Rocky Balboa has always been and continues to be an inspiration to me.
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