Adrian, we did it! (by Sprinkles)

While most of the sporting world is talking about the Dallas Mavericks right now, I thought I might take the road less traveled by and talk about something other than the current NBA champion and the current NBA loser (you'll never be better than Kobe, Lebron, and I don't care who does or does not want to make comparisons).  I want to talk about someone who most people don't even consider an athlete.  I want to talk about Silvester Stallone.

Now I know some of you saw on Sports Center that Stallone got inducted into the boxing Hall of Fame this afternoon along with Mike Tyson.  Before you start to harass or ridicule Mike Tyson, and without dropping some ridiculous stats on you, let me just say that I believe that Mike Tyson was, bar none, the most entertaining athlete from the press table in the history of sport (The Macho Man Randy Savage didn't have press conferences, so he holds the title for Most Entertaining Interviewee).

But back to Stallone.  If you for one second think that Stallone shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame, then I think you should take a long look in the mirror and make a change.  For once in your life (I promise that it will feel real good and it will make a difference.  It'll make it right.).  Rocky was the first movie about a sport that had a hero who won even though he lost.  Now, I know many attempts have been made since to make good movies about losers (Coach Carter, Friday Night Lights, among others), but none of those movies made me believe and feel like the man I rooted for and yearned to win actually won without doing so.  Watching that movie as a child, I actually believed Rocky won that match.  I don't think I realized the truth until I was in Junior High School or High School.

Rocky was also the first human being in the history of mankind who made someone want to run stairs as part of their workout.  Don't tell me about any trainers or show me workout tapes that are older than Rocky.  Sure people ran stairs before Rocky, but not because they enjoyed it or because it empowered them.  They did it because it's a tremendously beneficial workout.  I challenge any man to run up a set of stairs in workout clothing in any location that isn't a stadium (who of course has seen Rocky) and not have the melody of "Gotta Fly Now" run through his head.  As my friend Jim Rome might say, "It's not happening."

Interestingly enough, Sly was also the first person who made people want to run to their town hall without even having to go inside to get some sort of paperwork filled out or acquired or having to attend a city council meeting for the Citizenship in the Community merit badge.  Don't believe me?  Do you think any of your local politicians leave the town hall without a single piece of paper on any given work day?  Forget about it.

Now, I don't need to go through all the Rocky movies and all the reasons why Silvester should not only hold a secure spot in the Boxing Hall of Fame, but in the Life Hall of Fame.  Yes, he had Rocky five.  Jordan had gambling and his Hall of Fame Speech.  Magic Johnson had HIV.  Tiger Woods...well you know.  Kobe Bryant was an adulterer.  Even Peter denied Jesus Christ.  But to say that Silvester Stallone gave nothing to boxing is to say that Kobayashi gave nothing to hot dogs.  Silvester Stallone makes me love boxing at a time when there's almost nothing to love about it.  When nobody knows the names of more than two fighters and when nobody in the sport looks like they could fight a full grown bull with their bare fists and win.  I want to box when I watch Rocky.  When I watch Manny Paquiao...I want to stop watching Manny Paquiao.  In short, Rocky posthumously keeps a dead sport alive in the hearts of sports fans everywhere.  I challenge any film-maker, writer, director, and or actor to do that.  O wait.  He was all of those things:  writer, actor, director, inspirer, champion, Sly, Rock, and now...

Hall of Famer.