241. Rocky Season

Everyone in Philly loves Rocky. So when I saw that there would be city-wide events celebrating the release 50 years ago of the original Rocky, I knew it would be a big deal.

Kicking things off was the “Meat Market Challenge,” which included a Rocky lookalike contest, and the chance to be photographed punching a side of beef. That, of course, is what Rocky did in the iconic training sequence, as he runs through South Philly, sprints up 72 Art Museum steps, and jumps triumphantly, hands victorious over head, with the city of Philadelphia arrayed before him. As soon as I saw the flyer for this event, I knew it was for me.

The events were midday at Center City’s Reading Terminal Market, first established in the 1890s, which immediately signaled its Philly street cred. I had no idea what to expect, but when I got there, I found a small crowd, female and male, ranging in age from six to 73 (that’s me, always the oldest these days) milling about waiting for the festivities to begin. I can’t speak for the six-year-old, but it was clear to me that all the rest of us held Rocky as a meaningful character in our lives.

I, for one, named my dog Rocky; it turns out he had Rocky Balboa’s fighting spirit but not his sweet disposition.

One woman told me that she started watching Rocky I every Saturday night with her Dad when she was four years old, continuing until he died when she was twelve. She was there as a tribute to that memory, and brought her own boxing gloves.

She used to watch Rocky with her Dad. I wonder what this boy’s Rocky story will be.

The woman standing behind me in the line, also with her own boxing gloves, was concerned with how long we would have to wait (the meat’s arrival was delayed) because she was paying a babysitter so she could be there.

I could tell that it was not the first rodeo for most of those participating in the Rocky lookalike contest.

Waiting in line for their turn in the lookalike contest

All the participants were required to bellow “Yo, Adrian!”

So what was it like to punch meat? Exactly what you would expect, although I did it a bit gingerly compared to some of the others in line. And I didn’t have boxing gloves.

First, Johnny “Cannoli” Garbarino, a bare-knuckle boxer and undefeated middleweight champion had a shot at the beef

As one of the few without boxing gloves, I didn’t want to really punch the frozen beef and break my knuckles. When we were done with it, the beef went to feed the animals in the zoo. We were given black Rocky hats for participating.

Because we were in a Rocky mood, we were inspired to watch the movie again that night. I’ve seen it many, many times, as well as the other five in the series, but my husband hadn’t seen it since it first came out in 1976. Some of it hasn’t aged so well, particularly the over-the-top character of Paulie, Adrian’s drunken, slovenly, abusive brother. But that said, the story of a working-class bloke who against all odds “goes the distance” against the heavyweight champion still inspires, reflected in Stallone’s own story as a struggling actor who wrote the script and refused to sell it unless he could play the title role. Despite the violence of Rocky’s life, both in his job as a loan collector and muscleman and as a boxer, his gentle soul comes through, especially in his love for Adrian. And even though I’ve seen the movie twenty times, when he calls for her at the end of the fight, battered and bloody, I blubber every time.

What does Rocky mean to Italian-Americans? On the one hand, he is a big dopey guy who makes his living beating people up, exactly the image we would all resist. On the other hand, his courage and persistence in the face of terrible odds against him are an inspiration. His sweetness. His yearning for a better life. His devotion to Adrian. So while he embodies many of the “goomba” stereotypes of Italians, you can’t help but admire him, and in a weird way, be proud. Even in Italy, when you tell people you’re from Philadelphia, they all mention Rocky.

There’s a new movie coming out next month I Play Rocky, telling the story of Stallone’s writing the original script and dogged insistence that only he could play the starring role.

And there’s talk that Stallone himself has written a script for Rocky VII. His character continues to inspire, a half century later. Enough to bring a small crowd of people into the city with their boxing gloves to somehow be part of the Rocky story. Enough to bring four million people every year to the top of the Art Museum steps, to do their own version of his triumphant climb. And finally, after a half century of protest from the blue bloods that the beloved Rocky statue is a movie prop, not art, our Rocky has taken his rightful place at the top.