We took some needed time off over Thanksgiving break and decided it was time to revisit the entire Rocky saga. Disclaimer, I don’t acknowledge Rocky V as a part of the saga (Stallone will even tell you it was terrible) so this is based on Rocky I-IV, Rocky Balboa and Creed and there are massive spoliers in this.
For starters, Love your spouse the way Rocky loves Adrian. From the very first movie, he has a sweet crush on her, and is persistent in his pursuit of her. Eventually they get married and he treats her like a queen through the entire saga. He never cheats, never beats on her, never even thinks of anyone else and adores her. Even after she dies, he names his restaurant after her and he visits her almost every day at the cemetery and stashes a chair in a tree because he knows he will be back tomorrow. Seriously, Rocky is the model husband.
In life, there are no exhibitions. There are exhibition matches in 3 of these movies, and exhibition matches are NO JOKE. Boxing is all about seeing who can knock the other guy out, so exhibition matches by nature are flat out stupid.
In Rocky III, Balboa fights Thunderlips for charity (the ultimate man, Vs. the Ultimate meatball) and it gets out of hand in a hurry. Rocky get’s thrown about 5 rows deep, Paulie pulls a switchblade to cut off Rocky’s gloves and then Rocky returns the favor by throwing Thunderlips out, except he kind of drops him instead of hurls him.
The next “exhibition” was a total gamechagner. Apollo Vs. Drago. This fight still breaks my heart to this day and seeing Apollo twitching on the mat after the fight is something you just can’t unsee. This fight sets the tone for the epic showdown between Rocky and Drago. Even THAT fight, Rocky V. Drago could be considered an exhibition as it was unsanctioned and held behind the iron curtain.
The final exhibtion was in Rocky Balboa when he fights Mason Dixon (great name). This fight is another slugfest that goes the distance. Rocky’s son at the end of the fight says, “That was the greatest thing I ever saw in my life”. There are no exhibitions or dress rehearsals in life. We are meant to go full throttle and give our best.
We really need to bring back the saying “I don’t sweat you”. It is Paulies go to line whenever he wants to tell someone he’s not afraid of them. He says this to everyone! Apollo, Rocky and even Drago’s loudmouth promoter after he calls himself the unsilent majority.
It doesn’t matter how you start. Sometimes the hardest part of doing anything is starting. It’s rarely pretty when we just get started. We often have to wait for the second round for things to get going and sometimes they don’t always go our way.
The second rounds are massive turning points in most of these fights. The last minute of the second round in Rocky II, really comes to a crescendo. Rocky and Apollo are really going after each other, and Apollo realizes he is in for another battle and Rocky gathers enough strength in that round, to last him the ENTIRE fight. Rocky flat out gets pissed off and says at the end, “I aint goin’ down no more”. When is the last time you had that kind of commitment?
The second round in Rocky III during the first fight between Rocky and Clubber Lang is when Rocky gets TKO’ed.
The second round of Apollo Vs. Drago is when Apollo is straight up murdured in the ring.
My favorite round in the whole series is the second round in Rocky IV, Rocky Vs. Drago when Rocky lands his nuclear right roundhouse and cuts Drago’s eye and he, and the entire human race, proceeds to take a brief moment of pause as if to say , “holy shit”. The speech Duke (his trainer) gives him between round 2 and 3 is unforgettable. Of all of the locker room, motivational speaches in movies, they all come second, to this one. “You cut him!!, you hurt him!!! You see, he’s not a machine, he’s a man!!!! No pain, No pain!!!” It’s hard for me to even sit down while watching that round.
We all need a push now and then to achieve what we need. Rocky won’t do anything 100% without Adrian’s approval. In Rocky II, he decides that he is going to rematch Apollo without her approval and he totally dogs his training and Micky tells him he liked him better when he was emptying spit buckets. It is not until Adrain tells him to “win”, that he trains at full bore. He needs her support.
Same thing for Rocky III. He needs to be on the same page as her and they are not during the final training for the final fight with Clubber. She is mad at him for really not training as hard as he can. It is her, that gets him to admit out loud that he is afraid. It is her, who gives him the understanding that it’s OK to be afraid and to make sure he is fighting this fight for the right reasons.
In Rocky IV, she is mad at him for taking the fight with Drago and screams “You can’t Win!!” He flies out to train without her and it’s not until she shows up in Sibera to support him that he climbs a freaking mountain and is screaming “Drago!!!” at the top of his lungs. I think we can achieve more that we can alone, if we are pushed and challenged by those we love.
Don’t feel sorry for yourself. This is another great moment from Rocky Balboa where a father tells his spoiled rotten son how it works. I can’t say it better than him so you’ll have to listen.
There you go, love your wife, understand life is not a dress rehersal, be fearless like Paulie, a good start is just that, don’t feel sorry for yourself, and look for that extra push to get the most out of your efforts.
