Curses. Many people believe in them, especially in sports. Sports fans will go the distance from not washing their favorite teams’ jerseys or other clothes to having rituals in hopes of speaking to the sports gods to let their favorite teams win.
Now, a new curse has emerged that favors Philadelphia. A beloved character that almost everyone has seen and heard of. That character’s name is Rocky. Rocky, starring Sylvester Stallone, became an icon of the city of Philadelphia. There have been six Rocky films and a continuation film called Creed, in which the third installment will be released later this year.
Rocky showed toughness, grit, not giving up, and a keep-fighting attitude. He started out as an uneducated, small-time club fighter and debt collector. He worked hard to become the best fighter in the world. Even though he lost to Apollo Creed via a split decision in his first major fight. He earned the respect of Creed and the fans. Rocky instantly became an icon, and he went on to become a two-time Heavyweight Champion.
The Rocky statue first appeared in Rocky III. It was located at the entrance of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The 72 stone steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art became known as “Rocky Steps” and many local residents and tourists have done their own version of Rocky. Then, the statue was relocated to the bottom right of the steps. It has become a tourist attraction and many people have gotten their pictures taken with the Rocky statue.
Suddenly, something started to happen in Philadelphia sports. It all started when the Minnesota Vikings fans put a Vikings jersey on Rocky and did the skol chant just before the 2018 NFC Championship Game. The result was a 38-7 loss to the Eagles and the Eagles went on to win the Super Bowl that season.
The second encounter happened two weeks ago. The New York Giants fans went to the Rocky statue and placed their jersey on him. Again, the Giants lost 38-7 in the NFC Divisional Round. Many fans, especially Eagles fans, began to wonder if Rocky had a helping hand.
This past weekend. The 49ers fans paid a visit to the Rocky statue and did the same thing leading up to the NFC Championship Game. Once again, the Eagles defeated the San Francisco 49ers by the final score of 31-7 to advance to Super Bowl LVII. It is the Eagles’ second Super Bowl appearance in five years.
These three playoff games have a pattern. The Eagles’ opponents only scored seven points against them. Is the Rocky statue now a curse for opposing teams that benefits Philadelphia? History is starting to take shape that favors Philadelphia teams in the playoffs.
Now, the Eagles play the Kansas City Chiefs in two weeks at Glendale, Arizona. Will the Kansas City fans have the courage and attempt to put a Chiefs jersey on Rocky? Or, will they heave the warning and avoid doing that for fear of them losing to the Eagles?
The legend of the Rocky statue is growing beyond the movies and it should be a fun two weeks leading up to the Super Bowl.
