A good woman is hard to find, and worth far more than diamonds. Her husband trusts her without reserve, and never has reason to regret it.
- Proverbs 31:10-11She worked at a pet store and happened to be the sister of his best friend. Even though she was very shy there was something about her that attracted Rocky Balboa. He pursued her gently and eventually won her heart. Eventually they would marry and have a son and she would be there with him to celebrate all of his glorious moments as well as his greatest struggles. Adrian Balboa loved Rocky without question even when it wasn't always the easiest things for her to do.
That was until he lost her to ovarian cancer. At the beginning of the sixth film we see him sitting at Adrian's grave and looking totally lost. Rocky is devastated because Adrian was his everything.
Later that night he takes a tour with his brother in law Paulie as he visits the sights throughout the city where he and Adrian spent their first date Each location represent a special moment that helped Rocky and Adrian begin their life together. The most poignant of all was when he remembered inviting her into his apartment and how all he wanted was for her to trust him, which she did. In other words, he wanted Adrian to know that she was good to him, which is why he had no intention of hurting her.
That was until he lost her to ovarian cancer. At the beginning of the sixth film we see him sitting at Adrian's grave and looking totally lost. Rocky is devastated because Adrian was his everything.
Later that night he takes a tour with his brother in law Paulie as he visits the sights throughout the city where he and Adrian spent their first date Each location represent a special moment that helped Rocky and Adrian begin their life together. The most poignant of all was when he remembered inviting her into his apartment and how all he wanted was for her to trust him, which she did. In other words, he wanted Adrian to know that she was good to him, which is why he had no intention of hurting her.
The loss of Adrian leaves a permanent void in his life. While the film doesn't take the time to suggest that Rocky would find true fulfillment in the divine it does remind him that he is still alive and that his life still has a purpose because of the fact that he is still good. One of the purposes we all have is to love our neighbor (Matthew 22:39) and this does not change even when we lose our spouse. We are still people and we as well as others were made to be loved
During the film Rocky reunites with an old friend he calls Lil' Marie, who is also someone he tried to mentor in their younger days. Once they reunite he begins the process of offering whatever help he can both to her and her son, even to the point of questioning who made her question her own worth as a person.
Rocky would also start to think about doing something that always made him feel alive, which was boxing. While some see boxing as nothing more than a dangerous sport Rocky knew that it was more than that as it taught him so many lessons that applied to all of life. In fact, Adrian was a big supporter of her husband's boxing career once she had a better understanding of what it meant to him due to the fact that it helped make him into the man that he was. Thankfully for Rocky he had Marie to remind him that he had to do what made him happy regardless of how it looked to others.
The first person to oppose the idea of Rocky fighting again was Paulie. Now that Adrian was gone Rocky struggled to find a purpose in life. He was obviously retired and spent many of those years with Adrian as they opened a restaurant that he continued to operate after her death. That did not mean that he did not miss the thing that burned inside of him. Rocky makes it clear to Paulie that he's not interested in doing anything really big or in trying to become a champion. He simply wants to compete because he recalls the purpose that it gave him. Perhaps that's what he meant when he said that there was still stuff in the basement or perhaps boxing will be the activity that will help him release the anger he was still feeling over the loss of Adrian. In some ways Rocky isn't clear but we certainly can see that he is looking for something to live for again.
Of course just like in relationships there are those who question one's motives or desires when they decide to pursue something or someone. We remember in the first film when even Paulie questioned why Rocky would want to go out with his sister Adrian, going as far as calling her as a loser. In some ways it's no different than Rocky's son Robert asking him why he would want to box again due to the fact that people had already started to mock Rocky for his decision to fight again as well as the impact it would have on him being his son. To Robert's surprise, Rocky not only has a good answer for his son but also some harsh criticisms for his son, while also reminding him that he still loves him.
Of course Robert's concern was due to the press conference that was held earlier in the day when members of the press ridiculed Rocky for being an old and washed up boxer that had no business being in the ring with the current heavyweight champion Mason Dixon. With Dixon also laughing at Rocky when questioned about the possibility of getting hurt in a fight that was seen by many as a publicity stunt, Rocky was the source public ridicule No one saw any good in him!
Sadly, the fact that Rocky had a boxing license should have told everyone that he was capable of at least competing. It's too bad the members of the press were not in attendance when Rocky's enthusiasm rather than his positive test results was the final bit of information that convinced the boxing commission to award him a license. His desire to fight was based on his determination to live his life being able to do the thing that made him feel alive.
What is it about boxing that could teach so many of us about what it means to both compete and to persevere? The key to understanding this was when Dixon's trainer Martin spoke to him about the need to be tested. Here we see the idea of going through a great suffering in order to experience a great ecstasy, just like when a woman gives birth (see John 16:21). This is something that many of us can experience in life in order to see how good we really are because as Martin said, it leads to self-respect Rocky's experience as a boxer also allowed him to understand that, which he imparted to his own son. This is a lesson that applies to so many aspects of our lives.
But the one who perseveres to the end will be saved.
-Matthew 24:13
This is why the boxing match at the end of the movie is the most beautiful match in the history of the Rocky franchise. It's not about winning and losing as much as it is about testing oneself. Rocky is there simply for the love of the sport, for the competition. Dixon is there to be tested by an opponent that won't quit since he had never faced a boxer with Rocky's experience and determination.
Rocky is the first to have to dig down as he is clearly over matched by Dixon's youth and boxing skills. After a couple of knock downs and awkward misses Rocky eventually figures out how to get to Dixon. Once this happens Dixon feels a type of pressure that he had never felt before. Aside from that, he also has to deal with a broken hand and then a knockdown, which certainly gave Rocky a huge psychological advantage.
As the fight goes on the two warriors battle each other without pause. Then in the final round Rocky is dropped by Dixon one last time and we can see that he is about to quit. That is when he looks at his son Robert and reminds himself that he needs to teach his son by example as he is now beyond words. He will teach his son through the thing that he knows best.
No one would have criticized Rocky for staying down because they had already seen the effort he had put into the match. Fans also knew what Rocky had been through and accomplished in his previous bouts so he had nothing more to prove to anyone. Still, he was willing to experience the agony in order to feel the ecstasy, which in this case would be to demonstrate to his son how winning is done. It was a true form of sacrificial love (agape).
The nice thing about this scene being done in the context of a film are the visuals what show us all that Rocky was actually thinking. In this case he wasn't just knocked down in a boxing match because in his mind he was reviewing some of the toughest moments from his life. That means that he got to see how life also knocked him down with the worst thing being the death of Adrian. So, as he gets up to finish the match we also see him getting up to live his life to the fullest knowing that he has so much more to accomplish. Now we see more than ever why it was important for him to have this match because perhaps this was the only thing that could really remind him that he was good.
The bell rings while the two boxers were in the middle of the ring duking it out. Once the fight is over they embrace and it is there that Rocky tells Dixon that he is a great champion. The smile on Dixon's face says it all because he received such praise from a two time champion who defeated some of the greatest heavyweight boxers in history. This was the self-respect Dixon really wanted and the encouragement he received from Martin after the fight further revealed to him that he was in fact the champion that he hoped to be. He was indeed tested in the ring that night and he prove to himself and to the whole world that he had the heart to deal with the baptism of fire that Martin had referred to earlier in the film.
In the end we see that Rocky and Dixon in fact needed each other in order to show themselves as well as the world around them that they were in fact great warriors. This is where we can be indebted to our opponent as they give us the opportunity to test ourselves in order to see how great we can truly be. In doing so we acknowledge to our opponent that they are good and they in turn do the same to us because our efforts tested them in the same way.
Part One: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqxO2v2dlg0
Part Two: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6h4oKzBTujE
Finally, we have the ending scene where Rocky goes to Adrian's grave to offer flowers and to let her know that once again, they did it. In other words, she is still in his heart but now we see a look on his face that we didn't see at the beginning of the film. Yes, he misses her but we can see as he walks away from her grave that he has more life to live. In the past it was Adrian that reminded him that he was good but now it was his other love, which was boxing, that reminded him that he was more than a man who lost his wife. He still has a son to love and we also see the impact he had on Marie Rocky and Marie well as her son by reaching out and being kind to them (this is a deleted scene but it makes the point): Rocky and Steps
We can't give what we don't have so the best way to show people they are good is to remind ourselves that we are also good. If there is one lesson we can learn from the love that was shown in all of the Rocky films it is this: you don't have to be the smartest person or the most famous person in the world to love someone. All you have to do is reach out to them and show them that they are good.
The impact will last a lifetime and this is best seen by the fact that Rocky never forgot the woman that showed him that he was in fact, good.
The nice thing about this scene being done in the context of a film are the visuals what show us all that Rocky was actually thinking. In this case he wasn't just knocked down in a boxing match because in his mind he was reviewing some of the toughest moments from his life. That means that he got to see how life also knocked him down with the worst thing being the death of Adrian. So, as he gets up to finish the match we also see him getting up to live his life to the fullest knowing that he has so much more to accomplish. Now we see more than ever why it was important for him to have this match because perhaps this was the only thing that could really remind him that he was good.
The bell rings while the two boxers were in the middle of the ring duking it out. Once the fight is over they embrace and it is there that Rocky tells Dixon that he is a great champion. The smile on Dixon's face says it all because he received such praise from a two time champion who defeated some of the greatest heavyweight boxers in history. This was the self-respect Dixon really wanted and the encouragement he received from Martin after the fight further revealed to him that he was in fact the champion that he hoped to be. He was indeed tested in the ring that night and he prove to himself and to the whole world that he had the heart to deal with the baptism of fire that Martin had referred to earlier in the film.
In the end we see that Rocky and Dixon in fact needed each other in order to show themselves as well as the world around them that they were in fact great warriors. This is where we can be indebted to our opponent as they give us the opportunity to test ourselves in order to see how great we can truly be. In doing so we acknowledge to our opponent that they are good and they in turn do the same to us because our efforts tested them in the same way.
Part One: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqxO2v2dlg0
Part Two: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6h4oKzBTujE
Finally, we have the ending scene where Rocky goes to Adrian's grave to offer flowers and to let her know that once again, they did it. In other words, she is still in his heart but now we see a look on his face that we didn't see at the beginning of the film. Yes, he misses her but we can see as he walks away from her grave that he has more life to live. In the past it was Adrian that reminded him that he was good but now it was his other love, which was boxing, that reminded him that he was more than a man who lost his wife. He still has a son to love and we also see the impact he had on Marie Rocky and Marie well as her son by reaching out and being kind to them (this is a deleted scene but it makes the point): Rocky and Steps
We can't give what we don't have so the best way to show people they are good is to remind ourselves that we are also good. If there is one lesson we can learn from the love that was shown in all of the Rocky films it is this: you don't have to be the smartest person or the most famous person in the world to love someone. All you have to do is reach out to them and show them that they are good.
The impact will last a lifetime and this is best seen by the fact that Rocky never forgot the woman that showed him that he was in fact, good.
Carlos Solorzano
- BA & MA in Religious Studies from Cal State Long Beach
- Certified Through the Theology of the Body Institute
- Speaker with Catholic Speakers Organization
