I have been to Christ the Redeemer in Rio (see Guns & Butter: Rio de Janeiro Travel Guide). I have the iconic photo with my arms spread apart. It was a moment of pure bliss.
Sacreligious as it sounds, it was not as rewarding as climbing the steps and taking my photo with Rock. I was not the only one who shared in the excitement. People from all over the world queued to take the same picture. Interestingly enough, those who came to revel in Rocky’s greatness were polite enough to stand in line and allow one person after another to take an unencumbered picture. In a world of no manners (see Etiquette of Things), that was nice to see.
I guess what I’m trying to say, is that if I can change, and you can change, everybody can change!
TPOL’s Trivia: Do you know the Philadelphia Museum of Art is behind the Rocky statue? While it may be full of antiquities and masterpieces, the crowd and I were only there to see the Italian Stallion.
Insert your favorite Rocky quote below.
“The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows.”
I’ve done the statue photo, and another time with my girlfriend. Both times…. very civilized. One time there was a guy offering to take your photos for $1 and sort of minding the line (maybe he was homeless, maybe not, seemed to be and had an assortment of bags – but major props and he was getting $5’s left and right with tips).
The museum is iconic in many ways. Best 4th of July I ever had was standing somewhere way back down Ben Franklin watching Elton John sing Philadelphia Freedom. 2005 or so…. was in college.
Fun fact: I absolutely despise Elton John. Please don’t play him or Phil Collins. The worst!
And did you watch the video with the sound on?
I did. Was that a “Go Rocky” in there?
I’m not sure Phil Collins can actually put together a coherent sentence. And Elton, well, that was 20 years ago.
Funny thing is I had my headphones in so I didn’t hear any of this until I watched the video.
One guy says, “Go Rock!” And then another guy says “He’s going.”
Too funny.
Cute! Although Philly in general scares the heck out of me. Football/baseball fans.
As they say “We are f-ing Philly and we don’t care”. Are people really as rude as they appear?
Too agressive for this old lady.
Did Rocky always say “Absolutely!”. (it’s been 50 years ya know!)
Time to watch Rocky again!
The saying was actually, “No one likes us and we don’t care.” because of the undeserved reputation Philly has. Philly people can be very genuine and kind but like many from the Northeast can be more direct than some (especially those from the midwest) may be used to. People who visit and only check out things like the Rocky statue (which many Philadelphians despise) don’t really experience Philadelphia.
One of our finest and kindest Philadelphians died unexpectedly last week and there was an outpouring of love from the community: https://6abc.com/post/pierre-robert-friends-fans-late-wmmr-host-gather-celebration-life-rittenhouse-square/18104823/
It wasn’t the only thing. I’ve been everywhere in the world and no matter what I see and do, someone will always say, “You missed out on this. You should’ve seen that.”
There’s a difference between being an IG traveler (https://thepointsoflife.boardingarea.com/are-you-guilty-of-travelling-under-the-social-influence/) and someone who travels for himself (https://thepointsoflife.boardingarea.com/travel-yourself/)
Rocky was the best! But I did a little bit more than that with the limited time I had. Read my Guns & Butter: Philadelphia Travel Guide.
Central Philly was full of the most polite people. I’m guessing they’ve been trained to cater to tourists. Didn’t take long to see the grimy side in my cheese steak quest!