Image via Complex Original
Aside from Star Wars, Sylvester Stallone's Rocky series might be the film series that is nearest and dearest to my heart. Part of it is an affinity for Philadelphia, but if I'm keeping it 100, there's something about Rocky Balboa's story—a southpaw who started from the bottom and made history—that resonated much more than other success stories. It's a story to aspire to: staying determined and true to yourself, standing up to adversity, and keeping family on the forefront of your priorities. Plus, the films are triumphant af, and if you ask me in public, I will not admit to tearing up a bit at the end of Rocky II.
One of the more anticipated films of 2015, IMHO, is Creed, which finds Michael B. Jordan playing the son of Rocky's greatest opponent and one of his dearest friends, Apollo Creed. To get psyched, I made it a point to run through the six previous Rocky films, as it'd been a while since I'd properly digested some of them. It's the ultimate arc of a character, running through the highest of highs and their lowest points, all wrapped up in a sweeping love story and a lens focused so precisely on the world of boxing that Stallone was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame back in 2011.
While going through the films, two funny things happened: a) I had Puffy's "Victory" on repeat when it was time to get motivated, and b) I started really picking up on the life lessons I didn't fully recognize back when these films first came out. I was a shorty looking forward to mean dudes getting the piss beat out of them in the ring, but grew into a grown man who sees the issues in providing for family and preparing for life that permeate the entire Rocky series.
That said, here's a look at the life lessons I picked up while re-watching Stallone's magnificent (at times) Rocky series.
Everyone needs a Mickey
In the first three Rocky films (as well as in some flashbacks), Rocky had an old scrapper named Mickey in his corner. He worked out of the local gym in Philadelphia, and applied his decades of knowledge about the sweet science to Rocky's career, helping establish him as the world champion. His style was a bit unorthodox. He'd call you all kinds of bums, was a generally ornery old man, and believed in tough love. No matter what, Rocky knew that he could count on Mickey to have his back, and throughout their professional career, Mickey looked out for Rocky (sometimes to a fault).
Lesson learned: No matter how dope you are on your own, you always need someone in your corner. Not just anyone, though; the last thing anyone needs is a "yes" person. There's nothing greater than someone who has your best interests at heart not being afraid to give you the straight poop on why you're messing up, then helping you get back on track.
Defend yourself at all times
One of the things that bugged me about the first two Rocky films (and Rocky's first fight with Clubber Lang) was his defense against Apollo Creed... or lack thereof. It's no surprise that by Rocky V, Balboa is seriously jacked up from all of the blows he's taken to the head. If you go back and run through Rocky's fights with Creed, and when Lang decimated him during their first fight, you can see that he was barely getting his hands up. God bless Mickey, but when he taught Rocky how to fight right-handed, he should've thrown in some lessons about putting his guard up.
Kudos to Creed for coming in in Rocky III and teaching Rocky to at least move so Clubber isn't just full-on hitting him [Ed. note: Also, kudos to Creed for teaching Rocky how to do an unreal training montage]. Clubber still got some shots in, but the art of defense helped Rocky in the long run.
Lesson learned: No matter how strong your offense is, you need an equally strong defense. Leaving yourself open for attack can take more out of you than being ready to absorb the blows and fighting a better fight. And hell, if you tire your opponent out enough, you can then go in for the kill when they're at their weakest.
Your girl is probably right
While the Rocky series has obviously been about boxing, the core of the series has been built on emotion. The Rocky/Adrian romance grew from the beginning, when Rocky was doing mob collections and Adrian was working in a pet shop, and blossomed as high (and low) as Rocky's success. They grew to know each other like the back of their hands, and while they didn't always see eye to eye, they had each other's backs.
You could tell from jump street that Adrian didn't want Rocky fighting. Her early questions were a lot of "whys" and "what fors," but when she realized that Rocky just had to be Rocky, she was always in for an inspirational word or two. Her best was in Rocky III, when she forced Rocky to admit that he was afraid of Clubber Lang, and how dealing with that fear was the only way to overcome it. It's a hard lesson, but one that only Adrian could deliver to help Rocky snap out of it.
Lesson learned: It may annoy you, but you really should be listening to your lady. Unless you've got something she wants (money, fame, etc.), she's with you for a good reason: she obviously rocks with you and wants to see you prosper. Instead of finding new ways to question her when she says you should probably stay in, maybe try and see you how your lady sees you. Nine times out of ten (well, maybe seven or eight times out of ten), she has your best interests at heart AND can clue you in on things you might not realize.
He who has the biggest toys doesn't always win
When you watch all of the Rocky films back to back, you begin to notice a trend: it's usually the guy who is super basic when it comes to training that ends up coming out on top. In the first two Rocky films, it's Rocky Balboa running through the streets with his woes while Apollo is in a pristine gym ducking it out. Rocky III finds Rocky half-assing his training while Clubber Lang is in some murder dungeon of a gym, and Lang comes out on top—it's only after Creed takes Rocky to an underground gym in Los Angeles and teaches him how to move to what Paulie calls "jungle music" (hate tf out of him for that) that he got his weight up.
The biggest example of this is in Rocky IV. Rocky is in the frozen tundra, running up snowy mountainsides and practicing under a string, then lifting up the squad in a wooden cart while Drago is taking PEDs, having his training tracked by a computer, altogether working out in a much more advanced state of body sculpting via technology. And while it made Drago a beast, Rocky ended up edging him out, partly because of his scaled-back training equipment...right? That's what I was supposed to get out of all of this, isn't it?
Lesson learned: Look, that new Apple Watch might look amazing, and it might totally re-organize your life...but you could legit do the same thing with a desk planner and a Swatch, playboy. All of the fire technology in the world will not make up for what you might lack in heart and determination, so focus on building with what you have, instead of waiting for the fancy toys to do it for you.
Life comes at you fast
While Rocky showed the Italian Stallion living poor af in Philly, Rocky II turned all of that around. He spent the beginning of the film blowin' money fast on cars he couldn't drive, a house he technically couldn't afford, watches that apparently can't keep time, and ended up having to fight again because he had no other skills. This was fine for a time, as he ended up capturing the world title and lived high on the hog in a fire mansion, chauffeured car rides, and much, much more. Truly living that lavish life.
But after two films full of that luxurious lifestyle, the Balboas come back from Moscow to find out that their accountant screwed them out of half a million dollars. Rocky ended up getting brain damage from all of those blows to the head (PROTECT YOURSELF), and had to move back to their old Philly neighborhood when the money ran out. Adrian was back at the pet store, Rocky was working out of Mickey's gym, and life was tougher than leather for the squad.
Lesson learned: We should all be planning for the future, and making sure that our affairs are in order. Unforeseen circumstances can pop off at any moment, so while living it up in the moment can be fun as hell, just know that tomorrow you could lose...big.