I still remembered the first time seeing Rocky. His statue was in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA), at the right corner of the stairs. By then, I was just a freshman at Bryn Mawr, a kid who did not know much about Rocky and Philly.
It was until 2018, a year after I graduated from the college, I watched the first movie of Rocky. It was stunning to see him standing at the same place in front of the PMA, raising his arms toward the sky. It was absolutely THE film that could represent the soul of Philly in my utter dream. I wrote-"Philly has carried the purest four years of my life. I wanna punch, as hard as Rocky did, on the ring, towards the end of my life, but I also knew that I could not and did not want to return to Philly."
Out of the fear that the ideal of Rocky would collapse, it took me another three years to watch the rest of the movies recently in 2021. Watching Adrian, Mickey, and many other important fighters lived, stayed, and passed away was definitely heartbreaking. However, Rocky was there. After the fight with Apollo Creed, Clubber Lang, Captain Ivan Drago, Tommy Morrison, and Mason Dixon, Rocky was still running along every street that I could easily recognize in Philly. I guess Rocky was wiseful to say, if you stay in one place long enough, you become that place.
I liked the clip when Rocky and Paulie were talking about the final fight, they said-
Paulie: What, you haven't peaked yet?
Rocky: Peak?
Paulie: Yeah. Peak.
Rocky: …I don't know. There's still some stuff in the basement.
Paulie: What basement?
Rocky: [Points to his chest] In here.
What was the stuff in the basement Rocky was referring to? Was it pride? Was it self-respect? Was it the damn beast inside?
I soon figured out that it was Rocky's deterministic way of living that had drawn me into him, just like all the heroic figures in the epic poem. Rocky is a fighter. He fights not because he can't sing or dance, but for the reason that fighters fight.
Marie was right when she said to Rocky-
You know, who you are, you konw the part of you that is so full of life. I mean, we all have that feeling, that fire. We usually never get a chance to use it and then it just goes away. But you can. You've got this opportunity. So, do it. Why not? I mean this is who you are. This is who you will always be and you don't move aside for nobody untill you're ready to move and it does not matter how this looks to other people. All that matters is how it looks to you. Rocky. Rocky, look at me. How it looks to you and if this is something that you want to do and if there is something that you 've got to do, then you do it. Fighters fight.
Rocky was right when he said to his son Robert-
The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place, and I don't care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done! Now, if you know what you're worth then go out and get what you're worth. But ya gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain't where you wanna be because of him, or her , or anybody!
Yes, Rocky has gone through hell, worse than any nightmare one could ever dream. But when it is over, he was no longer another bum from the neighborhood, but the one who stood in the ring, with the eye of the tiger.
The Soul must have selected his own Society. Rocky has a life, with Adrian and many beloved ones. He succeeded because he kept going, and going, and going.
I hope one day, someone could also say to me, "I live with a fighter." Till then, my name would be Chris Balboa for the end of my life.
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