A strong argument could be made that Sylvester Stallone has positively affected my life more than anyone outside of my immediate family. Then again, if you count the number of times we watched Rocky III and IV in my household growing up, you could make another argument that Stallone (as Rocky) was a member of my family. This isn’t hyperbole.
Outside of my parents and brother, I bet I spent the most time with the character of Rocky in my life in some form or another, either watching the movies, playing with the Rocky and Clubber Lang action figures, mimicking the fights with my brother, listening to Eye of the Tiger and Hearts on Fire songs on the soundtrack, doing push-ups and sit-ups like Rocky and a bunch of stuff I’m forgetting.
I don’t know how to create a lifetime tally, but if someone asked me what my most-listened to album of all-time is, I’d guess the Rocky soundtrack first. We’re talking nearly 40 years of listening to that damn thing, all the way up to the present day. I even know the lyrics to songs on the Rocky V soundtrack and I say with confidence that Elton John’s “Measure of a Man” is one of the greatest songs written for a movie ever and it should have won an Oscar. Yeah, it should have.
Also, MC Hammer had not one, but two songs on that soundtrack.
Likewise, if you asked me what movies I’ve watched the most in my lifetime, I can say with certainty that collectively, the Rocky series is number one in hours watched for me from birth to today.
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Whether it’s start-to-finish or the thousand times I’ve watched the training scenes on AMC or TBS or YouTube or the ten thousand times I’ve flipped around at the start of a fight with Apollo or Clubber or Drago or even Tommy Gunn, we’re talking probably six figures of minutes watching Rocky get his face smashed in and then winning.
“My mother hits harder than that!”
“Ain’t so bad.”
“The ultimate man versus the ultimate meatball.”
“You’re gonna eat thunder and crap lightning!”
“He’s not a machine! He’s a man!”
I’ve said these lines a million times. In context. Out of context. Talking shit playing basketball. They’re instant crowd pleasers for any guy over 35.
Rocky’s speech to his son in Rocky Balboa is, no exaggeration, one of the best father-son speeches in cinema history. Every dad should say this to every son at a critical moment in their lives:
You ain’t gonna believe this…but you use to fit right here. (Rocky holds up his right hand) I’d hold you up and say to your mother, this kid is gonna be the best kid in the world. This kid is gonna be better than anybody I ever knew…and you grew up good and wonderful. It was great just watching you everyday. It was like a privilege. Then the time comes for you to be your own man and take on the world and you did… But somewhere along the line you changed…you stopped being you…you let people stick a finger in your face and tell you you’re no good…and when things got hard you started looking for somethin’ to blame…like a big shadow. Let me tell you something you already know.
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, nobody is gonna hit as hard as life!
But it ain’t about how hard you can hit, it’s about how hard you can get hit and keep movin’ forward, how much you can take…and keep movin’ 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 you gotta be willing to take the hits and not pointin’ fingers sayin’ you ain’t where you wanna be because of him or her or anybody! Cowards do that and that ain’t you! You’re better than that! … I’m always gonna love you no matter what…no matter what happens…you’re my son, you’re my blood…you’re the best thing in my life. But until you start believing in yourself, you ain’t gonna have a life.
Or watch the speech here. It’s still amazing.
If you include the recent Creed movies, my time spent watching Rocky as both a kid and an adult grows exponentially.
What other character can you say you’ve watched your entire life?
What other character can you say you’ve grown with your entire life?
What other character can you say you’ve passed on a love for to your kids and it’s actually panned out? That they like him too?
For me, that’s Rocky.
I’ve even had a poster of Rocky up in my garage gym, AKA, the Flex Factory, for decades now. I see it every day, so the tally of his influence rises.
If you’ve read this whole thing, then I’m guessing you’re in a similar boat with the character. You train to his music. You get pumped up watching his fights. The very thought of watching him come back against Clubber or Drago puts a smile on your face. You can even choreograph the fights still (I’m particularly good at leaning back against the huge haymakers Clubber Lang throws haha).
And we have one man to thank for all of this: Sylvester Stallone.
Forget all his other iconic movies and roles for a second (and I love them all, Rambo, Cliffhanger, Demolition Man, Cobra, The Expendables, Cop Land and on and on)…
One role has been with me my whole life like a member of my family: Rocky.
Thank you, Sly.
Happy 80th Birthday.
Go for it.
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Jon Finkel
Editor-in-Chief, Midlife Male
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