On Rocky and Philadelphia

My girlfriend and I went to see Creed tonight, and despite it not being the detailed look at Scott Stapp’s life that I know many like myself expected, it was a very good film. Between Creed and The Force Awakens, it’s been a banner fall/winter for almost-40 year-old film franchises getting reboots. (We were actually supposed to see The Force Awakens tonight for my second time and her first, but a Fandango snafu changed our plans – more on that in a future episode of Kazblog)

While time has given critics ample opportunity to poke fun at the more ridiculous aspects of the Rocky storyline, the basic elements that made it a cultural touchstone – Rocky’s hardscrabble background, the excellent boxing and training sequences, the depictions of inner-city Philadelphia – make at least the first film an entertaining watch even to this day. Perhaps the greatest praise you can give the original Rocky is that many of those aforementioned characteristics are used to similar effect in Creed, a movie made 40 years later with a different writer/director and entirely new cast apart from Stallone.

Of course, being from (the suburbs of) Philadelphia, it is a violation of county law to have an opinion of a Rocky film that doesn’t include applause or fist pumps. The character Rocky Balboa is supposedly inspired by a boxer named Chuck Wepner, a relatively unknown New Jersey boxer who shockingly took Muhammad Ali to the 15^th round of a 1975 before eventually losing. (Sylvester Stallone denies the direct connection between watching the Ali-Wepner fight and writing Rocky a year later. This is possibly because Wepner sued Stallone for a cut of the Rocky profits and, overall, seems like a scumbag)

Philadelphia has embraced Rocky as the personification of Philly spirit, resilience, and desire to achieve personal goals. Remember, Rocky's goal in the first film wasn't to beat Apollo Creed, it was to last all 15 rounds. And after struggling to run a few miles at the beginning of his training, Rocky celebrated final run all the way through the city and up the Art Museum steps like he'd won the title already A statue of Rocky stands near those iconic steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the only reason it’s not standing on top of City Hall is because some chump named Billy Penn got there first.

On the other hand, Philadelphia is a massive metropolis whose denizens tend to start fights at sporting events and disparage the ethnic minorities that make up most of the city. So that they happen look up to a fictional white boxer whose most iconic on-screen accomplishment was almost beating a flamboyant black boxer is a fact not lost on those who see Philadelphia as the Atlantic Coast’s version of Cleveland.

The joke I heard most often from the assholes I went to college with in Pittsburgh (and Bill Burr) was that Rocky was the greatest athlete in Philadelphia’s history. This is, of course, humorous, since Rocky is a fictional character, and making this comment therefore disparages all other athletes who played for Philadelphia sports teams. It’s the type of joke that’s a big hit with people who high-five over pictures of Calvin peeing on the Ravens logo.

To be fair, the Pittsburghers I heard this from were mostly just upset that the Jay Baruchel statue outside the Consol Energy Center was taking a long time to install. But apart from that, there are two main counterpoints to that joke:

1. Anyone with half a brain knows that the greatest Philadelphia athlete of all time is Speedy Claxton.
2.  So what?

Seriously, so what? So a movie character represents what Philadelphians see themselves as – or what they’d like to be. A film series trumpets the values that a blue-collar segment of the city holds dear. And?

Every city or region has at least one prominent media work that perfectly captures its spirit. Boston has the well-intentioned yet cartoonish” Sully from Southie” attitude of Dropkick Murphys albums. Chicago has pretty much every movie made by John Hughes. The entire Midwest has Fargo. New York has…hm. Well, nothing’s coming to mind. I’ll get back to you on that.

The point is: movies, books, music and television are created in part to provide an escape for the viewer/reader/listener. But not every escape involves space adventures or quests across mythical lands – sometimes, escape allows you to envision yourself as one of the characters. For many, it might be easier to see themselves as the center of a saga set in their hometown since we often see our own lives as a story about us, anyway.

So sure, maybe Philadelphians see ourselves as Rocky, or someone like him. Maybe we get amped when “Gonna Fly Now” blasts over the Lincoln Financial Field speakers because it reminds us of something quintessentially Philadelphian. But it’s nothing to be embarrassed about. If it was, then we need to have a word about 90% of what every city takes pride in.

Also, there’s plenty of other stuff Philly should be more embarrassed about. Like the rats. And SEPTA. But not Rocky.