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Apparently Two Rocky Statues isn’t Enough for Philly as City Bullies Sylvester Stallone into Letting Them Keep His

By Kyle Pagan

Published: Dec 10th, 2025 · 3:57 PM EST

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Here’s the CliffsNotes on one of the dumbest back and forths this city has been involved in since Jalen Hurts vs. Tanner McKee.

There are three Rocky statues in Philly. Did you know that? Neither did I, but sculptor A. Thomas Schomberg made three. Such a sculptor name it’s crazy. A replica sits in the Philly airport, the original was donated by Sylvester Stallone to sit on top of the Art Museum steps this year for RockyFest, and the most notable one sits at the base of the steps after being moved from the Spectrum. Stallone asked for the original back that he purchased years ago and Philly was planning on giving it to him. Wednesday, though, there was a meeting with the Philadelphia Art Commission and it turns out all three will stay because Stallone listened to the “strong and heartfelt feedback from the public,” writes Victor Fiorillo at PhillyMag:

At a Philadelphia Art Commission meeting on Wednesday morning, city officials revealed that they had met with Stallone and that based on “strong and heartfelt feedback from the public, Mr. Stallone has graciously decided that we will no longer move forward with the proposed statue swap.”

Is the “strong and heartfelt feedback from the public” in the room with us currently? I kid! But really did anyone outside of the Arts Commission and a few Rocky superfans know they were planning on giving the statue back the day after a brutal Eagles loss? Nor did I. Don’t get me wrong, I know Philly loves the Rocky statue, but I’ve never met one person in Philadelphia who was like, “You know what this city needs? More Rocky statues!” Just give the guy the statue he loaned to you. It’s either going to become the greatest headstone at a cemetery plot since Harry Kalas’ microphone in Laurel Hill or he’s going to have it outside his home, Lou Ferrigno style:

Instead, they’re now taking the Rocky statue on top of the Art Museum steps and finding a different place for it:

Also of note from the meeting: the Art Commission approved the city’s conceptual proposal of finding a permanent location for the Rocky statue – now meaning the original Rocky statue – on top of the steps close to where the replica temporarily stands.

Gotta imagine Stateside Live! is at the top of the list.

Still, what’s the point of three statues around the city? We have more Rocky Statues than Phillies World Series titles. We don’t have three Liberty Bells. I know this is a dumb thing to waste more than five seconds thinking about, but I’m just wondering if these tough times in Philly are going to last. The Phillies bailed out of the playoffs, the Eagles are on a three-game losing streak, and now some guy dressed like Will Ferrell’s character in that Jeffrey’s SNL sketch bullied Stallone into letting the city keep his own statue that he paid for! That’s like letting your buddy use your car to go to the grocery store and never getting it back.

Philly bullying an 80-year-old into letting them keep his statue:

I kind of need to know what went down in this meeting. You don’t just one day wake up from wanting your iconic statue back from a movie that made you into a Hollywood superstar and completely changed your life. Something’s fishy!