October 23, 2012

Gonna Fly Now...

72 stone steps leading to the entrance of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.  One of the top tourist attractions in Philly.  Why?  ROCKY.  Rocky Balboa, Patron Saint of Philly and underdogs around the world.  Yeah well, as much as I love my Philly I have to admit we do have a bit of an "little man" complex.  The New York Stankees Yankees to the north, Obama to the south..."Yo Adrienne", can ya blame us? Our big mouths and 'tude are just a cover for our Napoleon complex.  We don't want to be overlooked.  We have Scrapple, Cheese steaks, Ben Franklin and Jerry Blavat dang it (if you don't know who Jerry Blavat is...consider yourself blessed).   So when Rocky's workout culminated in running up these 72 steps he kinda carried all of us underdogs on his back with him.  And he showed us what can be accomplished if you give it your best shot.



"Rocky Steps"
Philadelphia Museum of Art





"Ascent"
Philadelphia, PA


When you get to the top, ya gotta hit the mark, turn around, do a few fist pumps while you jump up and down, and sing a few lines from "Gonna Fly Now"...trying to act too cool for school cause it would be REALLLLLY embarrassing to pass out ON top of the Rocky Steps. Because you KNOW someone will take a photo of that and put it on their blog...





In the short time I was at the steps I saw at least 20 groups of people re-enacting the scene which has become a cultural icon.  Seriously, it IS a cultural icon even beyond the city limits of Philly.  And if it's not, it SHOULD be...


"Hitchin' a Ride"
Philadelphia, PA



Local teams use the steps for training.  Perhaps a good upper body work out to go along with those steps they just ran up and down?  Just sayin'...





This is what ya get at the top.  A commanding view of my city, down the Benjamin Franklin Parkway to Billy Penn sitting atop City Hall...


View from atop Rocky Steps
Philadelphia, PA


Yep, Rocky is a metaphor for overcoming odds.  Philly always loves the "little guy" and embraces a hard work ethic.  Yeah, we've also been known to embrace a good heckle too.  But come on, ya just GOTTA love a good underdog. 

--Kathy











22 comments:

  1. Enjoyed reading your prose and viewing the photos.

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  2. Oh yes, even the locals have to do the Rocky! I love those steps and that view, oh that view! Did you know that Israel isn't where it belongs alphabetically because Iran refused to be hung next to it! Small fact (-:

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    1. Very interesting Tamar, no I didn't know that about the Israeli and Iraqi flags.

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  3. I've been there! And the hotel I stayed in is right over there! *points* :D (Seriously, though, I LOVED the museum and could've spent all day there when I visited.)

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  4. It is a cool town. I've been only briefly. I need to go back and reenact the scene on the steps.

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  5. We were just there this weekend, and while emerging from an exhausting visit inside I asked the kids if they'd like to run the Rocky steps. They just looked at me blankly. And I realized I have failed as a mother. We'll be watching Rocky ASAP. :)

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  6. I know I've mentioned this before but I really delight in your informative explanations (and wonderful photos to match) about your town. Thank you for another great lesson.

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  7. As soon as I saw your thumbnail I thought of the Rocky song! Great shots, they make me want to go work out!

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  8. love your photos and your words are a lesson of history to me. I live across the ocean, in Portugal (Europe) this is all new to me. I figure I'm blessed for not knowing Jerry Blavat ;) thank you for sharing. I'm visiting from 'communal global' and I'm your new follower. wishing you a blessed Tuesday :) xxo

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  9. I live so close to philly and drive by it all the time going south to visit friends & fam - but need to make it a point to visit one day soon. So much to see & do. ANd I wil ignore the Stankees comment - although they were pretty embarrasing the last series of the season vs. detroit. Oy vey!!! There's always next yr for our phillies & yankees huh?! I love the rocky steps and i love that they have the shoe prints by the top- sooooo neat. I love little things like that. :)

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    1. Haha, I was wondering how long it would take for you to respond to the Spankee comment. Believe me, I'm counting the days til spring training myself :(

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  10. I've run up those steps and had my photo taken at the top (back when I could run, that is). Stopped over in Philly on our way to see the Blackburn clan in Hatboro at the time. Rode in a Hansom cab passed the Liberty Bell and saw lots of homeless people sleeping on park benches in the morning. I'll never forget the people bathing in the fountains. That was many moons ago, probably several blue moons ago too. Some things you just never forget! Sorry to say though that the best Philly Cheese Steak I ever had (and yes I had one in Philly) was at the Tilton Diner in Tilton, NH. I still loved my stay in Philly :) Too bad we didn't know each other back then...............it would have been a blast! Hope your week is going great....and continues along the same path.

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  11. Now you make me want to have Rock I and II marathon ;-)

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  12. Ha-ha...thoroughly enjoyed this post because this is one of the first trips my children & I took when we moved to PA. My husband is a Rocky fanatic. He has & we have seen him watch this movie so much it's pathetic! It's not enough that he has 1- 5 on dvd, but he watches every time they're on tv too. He could act out the entire movie word for word all by his self! This movie in ingrained in my children's mind's, so of course we had to see the infamous stairs! I made it to the 3rd landing before grasping for breath. lol My little ones at the time looked like elk running up the stairs. They ran to the top singing the Rocky tune the entire time. Did you happen to take a pic of the statue?

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    1. Sonya, no I didn't take a photo of the statue. Not sure how long ago you were in Philly, but the statue no longer sits atop the Art Museum steps. It was moved off the steps and closer to the street. The thought was that the statue wasn't "art"....it was a movie prop.

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  13. You make me yearn to visit Philly -- I've never been. Going on my bucket list. Great photos!

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  14. Absolutely love these pictures and the commentary about Philly! I especially like the view up the steps from down low and Rocky's footprints down the parkway!

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  15. Haha!!! Thank you for the morning giggles!!! Love those Rocky steps!!! I imagine I'd raise my fists too if I ever made it up all 80!!!! (I have a hard enough time with one flight of stairs here...but then again...we're at 8000 feet!!!)

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  16. I have never been to Philly, but we are really trying to get there!

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