Gonna Cry Now!
In 1983, the Rocky statue was no more than a movie prop. In Rocky III, it was presented as a gift from the City of Philadelphia to the “Italian Stallion” Rocky Balboa for winning the Heavyweight Championship from Apollo Creed. The statue was mounted atop the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Today, the statue is an attraction for visitors from around the world, many come to Philadelphia just to run the steps of the Museum and to see the statue of their hero.
For yours truly, the idol worship bestowed upon this fictional champion may possibly be at the root of my beloved city’s professional sports championship drought.
For twenty-five years, the confetti and ticker-tape has been tucked away, the noise makers have been used for birthday’s and bringing in another New Year with no bling. Champagne that was to be popped in celebration has been guzzled in frustration.
This is the life of a Philadelphia sports fan.
May 31,1983: Maurice Cheeks slams home the final basket in a 76ers 115-108 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, it would be the last major championship that the city of Philadelphia would win.
In 1983, Sylvester Stallone commissioned A. Thomas Schomberg to build a statue of Rocky Balboa which was to be used for the filming of Rocky III.
October 16,1983: Known to Philadelphia sports fans as “Black Sunday” on this day the Phillies are shutout 5-0 by the Baltimore Orioles who come back to win four straight games to claim the 1983 World Series. On this same day the Eagles were stomped by the Dallas Cowboys 37-7.
November 11,1985: Philadelphia Flyers goalie Pelle Lindbergh dies from injuries sustained in an automobile crash the night before in Voorhees, NJ.. It was discovered that his BAL was .24% well above the 1% New Jersey limit. Later that season, the Flyers would lose in the Stanley Cup Finals to the Edmomton Oilers in five games.
June 16,1986: 76ers Owner Harold Katz cripples the franchise for the next 5-6 seasons by trading center Moses Malone to the Washington Bullets for Jeff Ruland, Cliff Robinson and two first-round picks. If that wasn’t enough he mortgaged the future by trading No.1 overall pick Brad Daugherty to the Cleveland Cavaliers for forward Roy Hinson. Does anyone remember Ruland playing a game for the 76ers…I don’t.
May 31, 1987: The Philadelphia Flyers come back from a 3-1 defecit against the Edmonton Oilers to force a Game 7 in Edmonton. Despite Ron Hextall’s 40 saves and winning the Veznia Trophy as the MVP of the playoffs, the Oilers score two freakish goals to win the Cup in a 3-1 victory.
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December 31,1988: The Eagles face the Chicago Bears in the NFC Divisional Playoffs. During the second quarter of the contest a fog develops cutting visibilty to 10-20 yards. The Eagles are able to move the ball for the remainder of the game but cannot get into the end zone in a frustrating 20-12 Bears victory.
September 1,1991: The Philadelphia Eagles best chance to get to the Super Bowl with Randall Cunningham at QB crumples to the turf at Lambeau Field. A hit by Packer defensive end Bryce Paup shreds Cunningham’s ACL and any hopes of a Super Bowl in Philadelphia.
June 25, 1992: At a Billy Graham revival in Veterans Stadium Reggie White tells a stunned crowd that his teammate and friend Jerome Brown was killed in a car crash in Brooksville, Fl. Brown’s nephew Gus was also killed in the crash as Brown’s Corvette hydroplaned on a rain-slicked road. The Eagles are still looking for his replacement at defensive tackle.
July 17,1992: Charles Barkley is traded to the Phoenix Suns for Jeff Hornacek, Andrew Lang and Tim Perry. Rumors begin to surface that Owner Harold Katz was seen making a call to the Special Victims Unit of the Philadelphia Police. He was overheard mumbling something about vaseline or lack thereof.
June 1993: Another Draft Day debacle, the 76ers holding the #2 overall pick in the draft select Shawn Bradley over Anfernee Hardaway. All of the sudden I’m developing a taste for alcohol.
October 23,1993: The 1993 World Series ended in Game 6 when Toronto Blue Jay Joe Carter sent everyone home in the Skydome happy with a grand slam off of Phillies reliver Mitch Williams who was put in by manager Jim Fregosi. Fregosi pulled reliever Roger Mason who kept the Jays at bay and was pulled for no apparent reason. Williams would later recieve death threats and in his return to Philadelphia as Blue Jays manager Jim Fregosi would receive a black-eye courtesy of one of reputed mob boss Joey Merlino’s wise guys. Fregosi for good reason denied the incident.
June 7,1997: The Detroit Red Wings complete a four-game sweep of the Flyers to win their first of two consecutive Stanley Cups.
May 26, 2000: New Millenium, Same results - The Flyers blow a 3-1 series lead to the rival New Jersey Devils. However the lasting image of the series would be Eric Lindros sprawled out on the ice after taking a shot from Scott Stevens while skating with his head down. Lindros would suffer a concussion in his last game as a Flyer.
June 15, 2001: After losing Game 1, the Los Angeles Lakers win four-straight games to knock off the gritty 76ers led by Allen Iverson in five games. After their Game 2 victory Lower Merion native Kobe Bryant declared the Lakers were coming to Philly “To cut their hearts out.” Obviously to something like that against your hometown is one thing, to actually do it is another.
January 27, 2001: A young Donovan McNabb, throws a costly interception to Aeneas Williams on the game’s final drive sealing the St. Louis Rams 29-24 victory in the NFC Championship.
January 19, 2002: In the final Eagles game at Veterans Stadium, Ronde Barber returned an interception 92 yards for the final dagger in a Tampa Bay Buccanneers 27-10 win over the Eagles.
September 8, 2003: In the inaugural game at Lincoln Financial Field the pregame festivities were capped off by Sylveter Stallone bka Rocky to the Philadelphia faithful. As Stallone was shown on the jumbotron and “Gonna Fly Now” blasted throughout the stadium the crowd seemed ready for some football. Someone should’ve told the Birds who were shutout 17-0 by the Super Bowl Champion Buccaneers.
January 18, 2004: The Carolina Panthers secondary forced three Donovan McNabb interceptions while handling the Eagle receivers in a 14-3 laugher at the Linc. For the third title game in a row Andy Reid choses not to run the ball although he has the backs available to do so in Duce Staley, Brian Westbrook (hurt for this game), and Correll, Buckhalter). Little did we know that help was on the way…
May 22, 2004: The Flyers lose in Game 7 to the upstart Tampa Bay Lightning who go on to win the Stanley Cup.
February 6, 2005: The acquisition of Terrell Owens in the offseason got the Eagles into Super Bowl XXXIX, and despite Owens’ 9 receptions for 122 yards, it was again a late McNabb interception that doomed the Birds.
July-November 2005: The dream combo of McNabb to Owens is brought to a screeching halt. In a summer filled with contract disputes open air exercises and public feuds with Andy Reid and Donovan McNabb, Owens is unceremoniously dumped by the Birds. Owens later signs on with the hated Cowboys.
Since the T.O. sham, the Flyers have been a shell of themselves until this past season, the Eagles have all but declared this is Donovan McNabb’s last season in Philly, Allen Iverson has been traded to the Denver Nuggets in a trade that the 76ers can actually say helped them. And the Phillies are on the rebound after winning the NL East only to be swept by the Colorado Rockies in last year’s Wild Card Playoff.
The Philadelphia fan has endured so much heartbreak that the City of Philadelphia has gone to great lengths to crown a champion. For example the 2004 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner Smarty Jones trained in Philadelphia, legions of fans were quick to claim Smarty as Philly’s own, only to be let down when Jones failed to win the Belmont Stakes and seal the Triple Crown.
Not only is that sad…that’s desperation.
It seems that the minor prefessional teams; hockey, lacrosse and soccer teams have enjoyed success, but that’s like putting pearls on a pig.
Regardless of how you flip it, there’s been no parade here in 25 years, that’s a generation. That’s four Presidents, two Wars and three more Rocky flicks.
Back to Rocky…the most beloved athlete not born in this city may be Julius Erving, his statue is tucked away in front of the old Spectrum and if you’re not paying attention you’ll walk right by it. The city’s favorite native son Wilt Chamberlain has a beautiful statue on the west side of the Wahovia Center, these were players who won Championships and were loved by just about everyone that came in contact with them. But their lasting images are almost obsolete, I don’t understand that.
I don’t want to start nominating people for statues but I can think of five players that deserve to have one placed at the cultural center of our City. The statue has since been placed to the side of the Art Museum.
How about placing it inside the museum, or shipping it to Boston.
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May 21st, 2008 at 7:43 pm
my 5 philly players who need statues:
1. Chuck Bednarik.
2: Bobby Clarke
3: Julius Erving
4: Mike Schmidt
5: Wilt Chamberlain
May 21st, 2008 at 7:50 pm
All of have statues except for Bednarik and I want to say Clarke but I believe his on the other side of the Spectrum opposite Docs.
May 21st, 2008 at 10:25 pm
Look on the bright side… the Curse of the Bambino lasted 86 years…
on second thought, that was for one sport only…if you multiplied the Rocky Curse by 4 sports that would be… 100 years… oh never mind…
May 21st, 2008 at 10:28 pm
Damn damn damn damn damn…
Tito get me some tissues.
May 22nd, 2008 at 6:10 am
I’m gonna keep my mouth shut around here with you guys bringing up these bad memories. Tear that g****mned Rocky statue down or send it to South Philly. Somewhere away from such a place of prominence.
My 5 Philly Athletes
1. Julius Erving
2. Wilt Chamberlain
3. Bobby Clarke
4. Mike Schmidt
5. Joe Frazier
Honorable Mention to the 5 Who Didn’t Bring It Home
1. Donovan McNabb
2. Allen Iverson
3. Eric Lindros (for some reason I liked the guy)
4. Reggie White
5. Charles Barkley
May 22nd, 2008 at 12:08 pm
I was a huge Lindros fan, the way Bobby Clarke handled that situation was ugly and he lost alot of support because of it.
May 23rd, 2008 at 8:23 am
You made a mistake. The Vezina Trophy actually goes to the best goalie in the regular season. The Conn Smythe Trophy goes to the playoff MVP.
May 24th, 2008 at 4:28 am
As a Pennsylvania native, I have to say that Philadelphia lacking a sports hall of fame is absurd. I know there is a foundation for it that is raising money to build one — as far as I know there is not one standing right now — but this city could honor all the athletes listed above if it just had the collective sense to erect a museum/HOF. Then, we wouldn’t have to worry about the ‘curse of the Italian Stallion’ or where the Rocky statue is located in relation to other legitimate pieces honoring true-life sports heroes.
And by the way….. Rocky Balboa is a cultural icon. He’s Philly. He’s boxing. He’s heroism. He’s persistence. He’s honor. (At least in the first film. All the others all suck sh*t.)
We can’t be dissing the Stallion.
May 24th, 2008 at 7:00 am
Many of us here are PA natives bruh. Tear that shit down!!
If Rocky was real then that would be a different story wouldn’t it?
Like Nino Brown said…Eff that! No renegotiations!
Rocky has got to go!
May 25th, 2008 at 5:25 am
I don’t think Rocky has ‘got to go.’ This country has tons of fictional icons that have been given revered places in the culture.
Hell, two whole theme parks and a movie studio are built around some cartoon characters from the mind of Walt Disney. Should we tear down Disney World and rebuild a park based on the lives of Abbott and Costello and the Marx Brothers?
Actors dressed as Ronald McDonald make a living shooting TV commercials for a multi-billion dollar restaurant chain. Should we oust McD’s and re-name all the burger joints “Emmitt Kelly’s?”
And I suppose we should drop Santa Claus and use Andy Reid as the new Christmas symbol of tidings and good cheer.
Rocky rules, my man…… I love Dr. J, but Balboa is more authentically Philly than Erving, whose ex-wife once said, after the Sixers got Doc from the Nets and Mrs. Erving found out she’d be leaving New York, “One does not wear mink coats in Philadelphia.” Would Adrian ever dis Philly like that? Adrian, or Pauly, would have hooked and jabbed Turquoise Erving right back to Long Island.
May 25th, 2008 at 7:50 am
This is the exact reason to tear that damned statue down because only dolts wonder what fictional characters would do. Rocky, Adrian, Pauly, and Apollo are fictional characters who if they need a place of honor then put them in front of Universal or Paramount Studios or what ever studio released the crap movies.
Besides, LI-born Julius Erving actually brought a real title to Philly.
Eddie Murphy said it right when he said white people actually do believe those movies…SMH.
May 25th, 2008 at 11:27 am
“Rocky rules, my man…… I love Dr. J, but Balboa is more authentically Philly than Erving”
Wow just wow. So I guess 50 years from now the legend will become fact and Philly will revere “one of its own” as the true heavyweight champion of the world.
Rocky was 290 and 0 and ruled the boxing world for 50 years until his great great grandchildren begged him to hang em up…
May 26th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
The collective imagination of you two guys cannot be that flawed, or limited….. or maybe it can.
Are your minds so literal that they can only derive meaning from literal, real-world figures? No one confuses the fictional Balboa with a living, breathing champion like Joe Frazier, but the whole point of art — particularly movies and literature — is to create characters who exemplify real-life virtues (or flaws) that allow us to see some of ourselves in those characters. By identifying with particular characters, we learn a bit about ourselves.
The Rocky movies were loved by millions of people, but that doesn’t mean those people conflate Rocky’s movie exploits with real-life accomplishments of living, breathing athletes. You guys have to lighten up a little. It is possible to admire real and fictional characters and not be considered a ‘dolt.’ In fact, it seems more doltish to be unable to grasp the idea that fictional iconic characters have informed all cultures since man staretd telling stories.
I mean…. people still think Jesus walked on water, and there are more statues of that character than there are of Rocky.
May 26th, 2008 at 5:15 pm
Uh….where’s BHops or Smokin’ Joe’s statues?
May 27th, 2008 at 12:12 am
That Rocky statue was a prop for a movie…a movie. Nothing’s symbolized by that except Sly and the studio were trying to make a dollar. Stallone claims NYC not Philly and what that statue symbolizes is just as phony as a movie backlot. The problem I have with that prop supposedly symbolizing the true spirit of Philadelphia is that there are sports heroes past and present who have authentically symbolized the grittiness and toughness of the City of Brotherly Love. That prop spits on the success Philly teams and natives had before ‘83 and the futility since then. Maybe if these real people who actually bled for the greater municipal glory than some fictional legbreaker then maybe the championship drought would end.
May 27th, 2008 at 12:45 pm
So you’re gonna compare Balboa to Christ - are you saying he was a fictional character? That’s another story for another time.
My gripe with the statue is that I can think of a few guys more deserving than he’s fictional and you have the nerve to saying in an earlier post that “He’s Boxing.”
Tell that to Bernard Hopkins, Joe Frazier, Matthew Saad Muhammad, Tyrell Biggs, Meldrick Taylor, Rodney Moore or the families of Lonnie Young and James Shuler.
May 27th, 2008 at 1:44 pm
No…. Bernard Hopkins’s career is still going. He can’t be immortalized in a statue.
And before someone says Jordan let us remember: they did his statue in between the first retirement and the comeback.
And I think Joe Frazier is more philadelphia boxing than Hopkins. Bennie Briscoe too for that matter.
May 27th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
I’m not saying that Hopkins or anyone that I’ve named needs a statue tomorrow, what I’m saying is that there are actual real-life athletes that deserve a statue as opposed to a fictional character.
I’m not old enough to debate who was more of a Philly fighter between Briscoe/Frazier/Hopkins
May 27th, 2008 at 3:11 pm
It’s (and Mizzo can probably do this because I am convinced he knows) Frazier (had a hall-of-fame career with one good eye and one good punch), Briscoe (the number 2 for most of his career at Middleweight behind Carlos Monzon, and fought a Prime Monzon to a draw.), and then Hopkins.
May 27th, 2008 at 3:22 pm
I’m 36 so I got the tail end of Frazier’s career and none of Briscoe’s but I did see footage of both and I must say they are two of the most underrated fighters in history.