Sylvester Stallone returns to Philadelphia for the first-ever ‘Rocky Day’ at Art Museum steps

Nearly 50 years after Rocky Balboa sprinted up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the actor who brought him to life returned to his former hometown Sunday to celebrate a new Philly holiday in his name.

Thousands surrounded Sylvester Stallone at the steps made famous by Rocky, the 1976 Academy Award-winning film written by and starring Stallone, to commemorate the first-ever “Rocky Day.” This new annual city holiday honors the film that not only cemented Stallone’s place in Hollywood history, but also put Philadelphia on the silver screen for the whole world to see. Dec. 3 was the date Rocky was released to U.S. audiences.

Stallone was accompanied by family members and his friend, actor Chevy Chase, who joked and waved to attendees, even getting one crowd member to shout, “Two for one! Rocky and Clark Griswold,” referencing Chase’s famous role as Griswold in the National Lampoon’s Vacation franchise.

Addressing the crowd, Stallone called those in attendance and the residents of Philadelphia the true heroes.

“I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart — and Rocky’s, too, because we’re very close — to all of you, who believe it or not are the real-life Rockys, because you live your life on your own terms, you try to do the best you can, and you keep punching.”

“You inspire me, believe me,” he added.

Stallone said Sunday that the story of Rocky Balboa and its making are intrinsically tied to Philadelphia, a city where a working-class underdog can rise up to a challenge despite being kicked down repeatedly. Before the world met Rocky Balboa, Stallone was a struggling writer and actor who despite his script being rejected countless times, pushed forward to see his dreams come true — much like the character he created.

“Naivete is great. You have all of these dreams and aspirations, and you haven’t been embittered yet when life beats ya down,” Stallone said of his younger self writing the film. “I was very ambitious because there was no ‘plan B.’ At the time, all I had to fall back on was my butt. Rocky was just a perfect storm. It came along at a time when politics were changing and people were looking for more positivity, and I just happened to fall into it.”

Dozens of people were dressed in their favorite Rocky wardrobes from his dark navy blue fedora, leather jacket, and fingerless gloves to the all-gray sweatsuit he wore in the iconic scene atop the museum steps — many reenacting the scene themselves. One such group was the Sutcliffes of Swedesboro, N.J. Jay Sutcliffe brought his daughter, Scarlett, and son, Jackson, to see their hero in person.

“My dad introduced them to me and I just loved it,” said sixth-grader Scarlett, who has even dressed up as Rocky for Halloween. “Today is really awesome because I grew up watching all the movies.”

Much like his children, Jay Sutcliffe learned about Rocky from his own dad, and listened to the Rocky soundtracks while training for wrestling. He loved the films and the City of Brotherly Love so much that he even proposed to his wife on the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 2009 (he admits they reenacted the scene running up the steps before the proposal).

“Rocky’s a movie about the hardnose, bring-your-lunch-pail-to-work kind of people,” said Jay, who considers Stallone and his films legendary. “I’m a union construction worker in Philadelphia and that’s what the movie and this city is all about.”

One Rocky Balboa “superfan” and impersonator, Frank Bedo, looked so much like the character that he kept getting second looks as he walked by. Bedo drove from Reading, Pa., to see Stallone in person on Sunday with the hopes of finally meeting his idol.

“Not even 30 minutes into the movie, I knew it was the greatest thing ever,” he said of his first time watching Rocky. “This character is so endearing, and so persevering, and so motivated, that by the time you get done watching the movie, you’re like, ‘I got to go out and do something!’”

After finishing his speech to the crowd with “Keep punchin’!” (one of Stallone’s personal mottos), Stallone cut the ribbon on the newly minted Rocky Shop gift store next to the Rocky Balboa statue at the foot of the art museum steps.

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During the ceremony, Glassboro-based contemporary portrait artist De’von Downes painted a mural depicting a Black female boxer surrounded by bees and butterflies (a hat tip to boxer Muhammad Ali) accompanied by the famous Maya Angelou quote, “You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated.”

Jordan Murray, a newcomer to Philadelphia from Indianapolis, sees stories like Stallone’s Rocky as a reflection of what many people experience in their own lives. As someone who has experienced homelessness before, Murray saw a lot of himself in Balboa.

“When I came here, I was actually between housing even though I thought I was gonna start a new job. That spirit of perseverance that the movie conveys, I feel like that embodies me and the way I got myself out of that situation,” said Murray. “I think the movies and my plight kind of go hand-in-hand, and it’s in the same city. I can see myself in Rocky.”