After 30 Years, 'Rocky' Still Inspires

Originally published in the December 2006 issue of the North Texas High School Sports Report http://www.nortexsports.com

The sports world, and the world in general, has changed quite a bit since the original Rocky hit theaters in 1976. Today's sports heroes, many times, are hardly role models, leaving many to wonder what ever happened to the principles of hard work, selflessness, perseverance, and determination.

Bringing back an inspirational icon like Rocky in today's cynical world was laughed at by many. It presented the kind of challenge Sylvester Stallone could not pass up.

"I wanted to write something different from what was out there today, and I thought, could I do that thirty years later? I told myself, if you just write about your journey, how you fell down, how you got up, and who got you up, then I think it is worth putting on to paper," the actor said about his motivations to write, direct, and star in Rocky Balboa, the sixth film in the Oscar-winning series, in theaters December 22.

In the film, the Rocky character has hit the bottom. His career is washed up, Adrian has died, and his fortune is gone. That all changes when a video game simulates that Rocky, in his prime, would defeat Mason Dixon, the current boxing world champion. Rocky is offered one last fight in the ring to settle the argument. "He doesn't fight for money, he doesn't fight for glory, he's fighting for a divine reason, that through him, he can show others the way," says Stallone. In many ways, art is imitating life once again. Despite some recent critical and commercial success with Copland and The Contender, a series of box office disappointments brought the actor to a crossroads. Stallone is looking not for another payday, but a chance to inspire moviegoers once again. "Whenever my career would start to spiral, I would write a Rocky, and I think the moral compass in the Rocky character would set me right. On a personal level, I would like to see this film end the series with dignity and with a moral message."