Billed as "The greatest underdog story of our time..."
Rocky Balboa"...is back for one final round."
And America is right back in the corner with Rocky.
Yo. Rock.
What's that all about?
Yep.
I had the same reaction as my fellow movie goers as the iconic trumpet strains of the Rocky theme sounded through the darkened theater.
The same "Oh no. Rocky? Again?"
Followed by, "How old is Sylvester Stallone anyway?"
Rocky Balboa splashed across the screen-in full movie preview glory-and in thick Philly-eese declared:
"What's crazy about standing toe to toe, saying 'I Am'. Huh?"
And with that...I was hooked... line and sinker...right back into full-fledged Rocky mania.
What is it about the Rock that keeps bringing us back?
America loves an underdog, especially one we can cheer from rags to riches. Rocky beat the odds with each movie segment of his fictional life and we were there, no matter what, emotionally bound with a character that fought the odds and won.
The fight took place in the ring but the win-the true win-moved Rocky forward somehow in his life.
In the latest chapter, Rocky talks alot about just that-moving forward. The fire is still in the basement. He wants back into the game.
The match may physically be against an a opponent in a Vegas ring but the symbolic fight faced by Rocky Balboa is the struggle within himself, an ancient mariner navigating a high tech boxing world.
Fighters fight...and the Rock is a fighter.
For those of us who have fought the good fight right along with Rocky since 1976, we sit in the theater thirty years later, victors of the daily punches life delivers-and often squarely on the jaw.
This time, as we cheer Rocky on, we cheer ourselves, for flat out making it this far and for the knowledge gained of what we in no way knew way back when Rocky met Adrian and discussed turtles in a pet shop.
Older does not mean over.