1

Rocky (1976)

Drew Lassiter

OGL 365 Sports Leadership

Dr. Andy Walsh

November 19, 2023

 2

Rocky (1976)

Rocky Balboa lives his life as a second rate, washed-up boxer from the streets of

Philadelphia. He fights in the ring but makes a living as an enforcer for a loan shark named

Gazzo. His life consists of going to the gymnasium, knocking around a few bums for Gazzo, and

visiting a little pet shop every morning and evening. He has a crush on the shy girl named Adrien

who works at the shop. He goes by just to talk to her, tell her some funny stories, and offer to

walk her home. She always declines. Every day is the same for Rocky. He lives quietly while

remaining true to his morals and tries to help others on the street around him. He is not

concerned about what others think or what they say about him.

Everything changes when Apollo Creed, international heavyweight champion, asks

Rocky to box him for the championship title. Creed’s opponent had broken his hand so Creed, to

salvage his reputation and gain more popularity, suggests an “underdog” match. An unknown,

underdog fighter would be given the opportunity to fight Creed in the true American Dream

fashion. Give the less fortunate a chance to become someone great. If this underdog wins, they

will be given the championship title. Creed chooses Rocky to be the ”lucky guy” who gets the

opportunity. Rocky accepts and it changes everything.

The film does not directly address the concept of sports leadership. In fact, the only

leadership we see in the film is absent leadership. Motivation and discipline are the only leaders

guiding Rocky through his experiences. His friend and Adrien’s brother, Paulie, helps to keep

him focused while acting as a sounding board for Rocky and his struggles. Although we do not

see much leadership from the sporting community influencing Rocky, we do see how Rocky

himself is a leader in his community and among his friends. He is concerned about a street kid

named Marie who hangs out with the bad crowd. He takes her home one night and lectures her
 3

about the lasting impact of reputation. If you choose a lifestyle, eventually, you will gain a

reputation for that life. That reputation follows you forever. He explains to Marie that if you have

a reputation as a “low life,” it does not matter if you change your mind or lifestyle. People do not

see or remember you for what you do (no matter how good). They will remember you as the

“low life” who used to hang around on the street corners with the bad crowd. Marie ignores

Rocky’s advice in this film, and we see a shot of her right back on the same street corner Rocky

pulled her away from. The only difference this second time is that Rocky ignores her. He sees

her decision and accepts he has done the best he can. Although Rocky is not personally

responsible for Marie, his initiative and concern reflect attributes of leadership and character

which are absent in the leaders in his own life.

Mickey, the gym owner, ignores Rocky’s potential until the popularity and spotlight of

the match between Creed and Balboa. Mickey seems to be hopping on the popularity train and

getting what he can out of the opportunity for his gym and personal experience book. He is a

controlling and abusive leader who wants to milk the athletes for whatever success they can

bring to him personally. He “has a business to run” he says. Although Rocky knows this, he also

has the awareness to know he cannot fight Creed alone. He chooses to let Mickey train him

despite the selfish motivations. The best leadership characteristics (in this case, humility), once

again, are seen in Rocky himself rather than in the people who are supposed to have them.

Jergens represents the leadership of boxing on an international level. As a boxing

promoter, he connects athletes to the right stages with the right opponents. His job is to make the

most money as possible for himself and for the top athletes. Apollo Creed, for example, looks to

Jergen to host the championship exhibition with the best publicity and engagement. Jergen is not

interested in developing athletes or building teamwork and character. He sees sports as a means
 4

to an end. He is in it for the money and publicity. As a leader in the industry, he represents the

boxing world as a massive façade of politics and self-interest. These behaviors help the audience

and, eventually, Rocky, see how the coaches and leaders around him do not care if he wins or

loses. It is a show and Rocky is the puppet.

The first connection we see between our leadership topics and this film is Rocky’s

personal creed. John Wooden shares his father’s 7-point creed or rulebook for life. He says to be

true to yourself, help others, and make each day a masterpiece (Wooden et al., 2018, pg. 13).

Rocky helps others as a part of his daily routine. He feeds his turtles, he stops to say hello to

Adrien, he talks to Paulie, and says hello to everyone he sees on the streets of Philadelphia. He is

respected in his community for his care and personality, not for any great feats of boxing or

athletic prowess. One of the best examples of this care is how he constantly puts himself in

harm’s way to protect someone else. Paulie wants a piece of the action with Gazzo and wants to

use Rocky as his inside man for a good word. Rocky constantly pushes Paulie toward a gratitude

mindset and makes excuses that Gazzo is not hiring. Rocky knows the gig with Gazzo is a bad

thing and he wants to protect Paulie from the shadiness and corruption of the loan shark. Rocky

uses himself a shield to protect Paulie and, by association, Adrien from the reaches of Gazzo. It

is a lot like how a coach places themselves in front of their team and takes public criticism and

opinion. A good coach and leader protect their team from outside influences while developing

and growing their team internally.

The second leadership connection we see is Rocky’s acknowledgement of who he is. He

knows his strengths and weaknesses. Pat Summitt talks about finding a player’s right fit. A

player’s abilities change how she chooses to coach and train them. Their personalities and

mindset also shape how she chooses to motivate and inspire them (Summitt & Jenkins, 1999, pg.
 5

146). Rocky knows he will not win the fight against Apollo Creed. The night before the match,

he visits the ring to prepare his mindset. He gets home and confesses to Adrien that he cannot

beat Creed. He is in the wrong league. He says he was a nobody before and it does not matter if

he loses the fight because all he wants to do is “go the distance.” His motivation is to still be

standing in the ring after the bell rings in Round 15. He is stubborn and knows his motivation is

not publicity or success, but grit and endurance. Coaches should encourage their teams to follow

suit to Rocky. Sometimes, you have to push through to the end, even if you know you will not

win because it is about the journey and growth, not the destination.

This leads to the third connection between sports leadership and Rocky: purpose. Kerr

talks about intrinsic motivation setting a higher standard than extrinsic influences. The All-

Blacks team knows this and their leaders “harness” the drive of their players to the pillars of

rituals, mantras, and imagery to create a sense of community and belonging (Kerr, 2015, pg. 37).

Likewise, Rocky learns to harness his intrinsic motivations to pillars as guides in his life. In the

beginning of the film, Rocky’s pillar is the gym he has attended for six years. He relies on the

community and space as a part of his lifestyle. When Mickey rents Rocky’s locker to another

athlete, Rocky’s pillar suddenly crumbles, and he struggles finding a new purpose to align with.

Eventually, Adrien becomes his pillar. His love for her has always been strong, but when he

finally gets to be with her, he has a new guide and purpose. He wants to train hard, and he wants

to train hard for her. He calls for her when his match vs Creed finishes. He spends all of his time

with her when he is not training or working. She is his rock, pillar, and purpose. He motivates

himself, but he does it for her.

Fourth, Rocky understands preparation. The All-Blacks team trains to win. Their training

regimen includes not only a physical aspect but a psychological one too (Kerr, 2015, pg. 25).
 6

Coaching leadership requires you to prepare your team for all variables. As your team learns to

adapt, they are more comfortable facing challenges physically and mentally. All this preparation

demands time and effort. As leaders prepare their teams for a project or goal, they run through

scenarios and examples countless times. They practice and repeat routines and behaviors so often

that it becomes second-nature to the team. In this film, Rocky prepares like no one else. He

practices most on giant slabs of meat, hanging in a cooler. It is stinky, cold, and miserable, but he

goes every day. During his first day training here, he broke the ribs in one of the meat slabs.

Paulie rebukes Rocky and shakes his head. This foreshadows the final fight between Creed and

Balboa. As the fight wanes on and the athletes are beaten beyond recognition, Mickey tells

Rocky to hit the body. He hits Creed and breaks the ribs—just like that slab of meat in the

cooler. Rocky’s preparation became second nature, and, in the moment, it counted his training

helped him score a crucial blow. As coaches and leaders help their team prepare for a game or

goal, it is crucial to set a practice regimen that they want to see replicated on the big day.

In conclusion, this film reflects little sports leadership where you expect to see it. There

are no coaches or mentors to guide Rocky through the trials and challenges as he prepares to face

Creed. Rather, it is Rocky himself who shows himself to be not only a leader but a self-

motivated individual who could accomplish anything he set his mind on. The friends and helpers

he found along the way supplemented a person who was already secure in who he was and what

he needed to do. Truly it is the character of the man that determines his success in leadership and

in sports.
 7

References

Kerr, J. M. (2015). Legacy: fifteen lessons in leadership. Constable.

Summitt, P., & Jenkins, S. (1999). Reach for the summit: The definite dozen system for

succeeding at whatever you do. Broadway Books.

Wooden, J. R., & Jamison, S. (2018). In The essential wooden a lifetime of lessons on leaders

and leadership. story, McGraw-Hill Education.

 8

Movie Analysis Rubric

Name ________________________________

Movie ________________________________

Criteria Full Points Partial Credit No Credit

Summary of Plot
Provides a thorough Too broad of a
Does not include
description and does description or not enough
summary
not exceed page limit detail
4pts

Discussion of Discusses and explains Writer generally

Sports Leadership the way the film There is either no
discusses the way the
mention of sports
showcases sports movie applies sports
leadership related to the
leadership and provides leadership, but more
movie or is missing
4pts relevant examples information needed

Sports Leadership 3 or more topics are 1 or no topics are

Topic & 3 or fewer topics are
covered and are referenced with the
Connection covered within the
applicable to movies. assignment. Writer
assignment. Applicability
Writer does well in provides small or no
to movies is broad or
being able to make detail to showcase
difficult to follow.
10 pts connections. connection.

Flow of
Paper/Accuracy All information is Writer generally stays on Writer does not stay on
accurate, and the paper topic, but is sporadic in topic, a lot of
is easy to read and thought process and may misinformation, and flow
sequential include misinformation of paper is very choppy
4pts

Grammar & Writer showcases close

Requirements Writer has more than a Assignment is filled with
to no grammatical
few grammatical or does grammar issues and or
mistakes. Completes all
not meet all does not meet
requirements related to
requirements requirements
4pts length and sections
 9

APA Format APA format not followed

Format is followed and
Some mistakes regarding or followed briefly. Many
writer paid attention to
citations and APA format mistakes throughout
detail
4pts assignment