Monday, October 31, 2016

Anthony Rizzo inspired the Cubs by channeling Rocky Balboa

Imagine for a minute that you’re Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo. Your team is down 3-1 to the Cleveland Indians in the World Series. You have to win Game 5 on Sunday, or the season is over and you’ll have to wait until next year. You need something to fire up your teammates, to give them the fighting spirit they need to never, ever give up. So what do you do?
If you’re Anthony Rizzo, you channel “Rocky,” one of the greatest inspirational sports movies in film history. Rizzo is a fan, and he’s taken the movie to heart.
Rizzo wanted inspiration, and “Rocky” was definitely the right choice. It’s weird to think of the 2016 Cubs as the underdog in any situation, since they won the most games in Major League Baseball this year and were the World Series favorite before a single postseason pitch was thrown. But they were down 3 games to 1 before Sunday night’s game, and the moment called for an inspirational underdog. Enter Rocky Balboa and his iconic, unforgettable underdog story.
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Anthony Rizzo channels Rocky Balboa after hitting a double in Game 5 of the World Series. (AP Photo)
The Cubs are pretty well versed in “Rocky.” When they went to Philadelphia in June, a few of them (including David Ross and Anthony Rizzo) took part in two celebrated tourist activities: running the Art Museum steps and posing with the Rocky statue.
If for some reason you’re wondering what the Philadelphia Art Museum steps have to do with “Rocky,” I invite you to watch one of the most inspirational training montages of all time. And even if you already know, watching this is guaranteed to make your day better.
If you’ll excuse me for a minute, I’m going to run ten miles at top speed and then break through a brick wall. That montage is pure, unfiltered awesome, and I’m guessing that’s one of the clips he had on the clubhouse TVs. He probably also showed Rocky’s first fight with Apollo Creed, in which Rocky goes the distance against Creed, fighting all 15 rounds and refusing to be knocked out. (Rocky loses the fight in a split decision, but that’s not really the point here.)
Rizzo didn’t just show clips and channel Rocky before the game. He found a way to incorporate the movie and the man into the game itself.
The Cubs won Game 5 by a score of 3-2 and staved off elimination on Sunday. Between the movie, the music, and Rizzo fake-boxing in his underwear, Rocky probably helped just a little bit.
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