Jason Kelce on his favorite Philly movie. Yes, it’s ‘Rocky’ but not the one you think.
The Eagles' future Hall of Fame Center, who is reported to be retiring, didn't choose the Sylvester Stallone movie you'd expect.
Back before what would turn out to be (maybe) Jason Kelce’s final season as an Eagle, the future Hall of Fame center who reportedly told teammates after the team’s loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday that he plans to retire, talked about his favorite Philly movie.
The offensive lineman who’s the leader of the singing trio known as the Philly Specials responded to a query in connection with The Inquirer’s list of Philly’s 50 favorite “philms.” Kelce made a popular choice in naming a Rocky movie as his favorite, but he didn’t pick the Sylvester Stallone’s 1976 series debut that topped The Inquirer list.
Instead, Kelce chose one whose resonance for him seems especially poignant now.
What’s your favorite Philly movie?
The cheesy answer is Rocky. But as an athlete, in particular it’s Rocky III. I think growing up, Rocky IV was probably the favorite in our house. Rocky is by far the best cinematic experience. But there’s something about Rocky III that when you rewatch that as a professional athlete, it hits a little bit different and you can relate to themes a lot more.
» READ MORE: Quiz: Where in Philly were these film scenes shot?
Why is that?
In Rocky III [from 1983, directed by Stallone] he fights Clubber Lang [played by Mr. T]. There’s Thunder Lips with Hulk Hogan. Rocky’s reached the mountaintop. He’s won the championship in Rocky II and now the sponsors are coming on board. Everybody’s loving him up. Everybody’s telling him how great he is. Other than Mick [Burgess Meredith], who finally confronts him, letting him know that he’s been basically having easy fights and the only reason he’s still a champion is because Mick’s been protecting him with the fights they choose.
And Clubber Lang is the hungry guy that’s up and coming, waiting to get that trophy. He doesn’t have anything to his name yet, and he’s got a different level of intensity to him than Rocky does at the beginning of the movie. And it takes him losing and being humbled to realize what really makes a fighter and makes you successful in life. It’s not the cars, the shiny things, the nice house. It’s the desire, the purpose with which you attack things.
It’s just the themes of it, especially as a guy who’s been in the league for a long time — I watched that maybe five or six years ago, and I was like: Oh my gosh, man, this is a much different movie, watching this, this time around.