The most well known boxer in American history is probably a fictional one- Rocky Balboa. And among all the world famous historical sites in the city of Philadelphia, the Rocky Steps, originate from a movie; not real life.
Yes, they are truly called the Rocky Steps, and there are 77 of them from street level to the plain upon one enters the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Despite the 90 degree heat, I ran them twice this past Sunday.
Here’s the proof:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59HXwB5ACQM
I wasn’t the only one doing, so were dozens of people of all ages, shapes and sizes. Even kids do it, and in my case there were even total strangers cheering me on. Along the way up, you’ll hear street musicians playing the Rocky theme as well as other songs from the iconic film franchise.
They’re looking for donations of course.
Also looking for cash are street vendors hawking shirts at the top of the Rocky steps. Most are positioned near the exact spot where Sylvester Stallone raised his arms in victory. This location is marked Mann’s Chinese Theatre Hollywood Walk of Fame Style.
https://twitter.com/PaulMBanks/status/899739891298336768
Given the imprint, it appears Rocky wore approximately size nine Converse. There’s a Rocky Balboa statute at the base of the stairs, off to the side, and lines to take your picture with it are often very long. By the way, everywhere you go in Philadelphia that has a gift shop, Rocky shirts, statues, dolls, sweatshirts…..it’s basically like Yogurt in Spaceballs:
“merchandising, merchandising, merchandising- where the real money from the movie is made.”
“Spaceballs the coloring book, Spaceballs the doll, Spaceballs the flame thrower.”
https://twitter.com/PaulMBanks/status/899333981933535238
Thus, basically Rocky and the Rocky steps are fully commercialized, commodified, corporatized and marketed.
On the bright side, someone on YouTube made a video of every running scene in the franchise. Have a watch below, Rocky II is the best one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m14f3ApSEQA
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now and Minute Media. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and Chicago Now.
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