Tour offers chance to walk in Rocky Balboa's footsteps

THE ONLY WAY to visit every site on Mike Kunda's "Yo, Philly Rocky Tour" is to take the excursion multiple times.

"There are 70 locations in the city, but we don't hit them all," said Kunda, the Sylvester Stallone look-alike who created and conducts the three- to four-hour trips in his black Ford Transit van with the front license plate that reads "SOTHPAW," a tribute to Stallone's make-believe left-handed boxer.

He personalizes the tours based on participants' interests. "If someone is more of a'Rocky II' fan, we hit more of those locations.

"We hit the core locations, obviously," he added, referring to such famed sites as Rocky's Kensington rowhouse, the Art Museum steps and Laurel Hill Cemetery, where Adrian's "grave" in "Rocky Balboa" is located. "But we'll hit [Pennsylvania Hospital], or we'll hit where Rocky jumped a park bench behind Independence Hall."

The tour's itinerary might also include:

* Victor Cafe (1303 Dickinson St.): The Rocky-owned restaurant Adrian's in "Rocky Balboa."

* The site (northeast corner of Broad and Pine streets) where Rocky bought his Pontiac Trans Am in "Rocky II."

* The intersection of Kensington and Susquehanna avenues, home to Mighty Mick's Gym and the pet shop where Adrian worked in "Rocky."

* The Italian Market.

* The Kensington street where Rocky said to loanshark Gazzo's malevolent henchman, Buddy, "I shoulda broke your thumbs!"

For information about the "Yo, Rocky Philly Tour," go to therockyfilmtour.net.

- Chuck Darrow