We think the good stuff should be remembered with shiny eyeballs and a shrine made from DVD cases, remote controls and well-loved lounge cushions. We asked our good mate and devoted Rocky fan, Damo, to get nostalgic with us and celebrate 40 years since Rocky.

I don’t know how old I was when I first saw Rocky.

Probably around the age of 6 when I first saw some of the other greatest movies of all time like Star Wars, Karate Kid, Footloose, The Blues Brothers and Beverly Hills Cop (the latter may explain why I swear too much). I don’t think I totally got Rocky the character as a kid - probably because it’s hard for a kid to understand what loyalty, tenacity, resilience and self-belief really mean – but I knew I liked him. I liked that even though he was looked down upon by others he kept trying. I liked that when an opportunity arose he took it with both hands and put every ounce of effort he could muster into it. And I liked that he had a heart of gold and wanted nothing more than to look after his friends and make his girlfriend happy (that’s for the ladies). Most of all though I got major goose bumps when the horns of Bill Conti’s “Gonna Fly Now” started the greatest training montage of all time culminating in Rocky doing a kind of celebratory dance at the top of the Philadelphia Museum of Art stairs.

Even though the original film was undoubtedly the best, the four sequels have all provided some classic moments of their own (I’m going to pretend Rocky V didn’t happen). Rocky II had the rematch with Apollo Creed that had to happen. In Rocky III he underestimated Mr T, wrestled Hulk Hogan and then beat Mr T in a rematch. Rocky IV was USA v USSR with Dolph Lundgren portraying the Russian steroid taking monster, Ivan Drago who takes the life of Rocky’s best friend just after James Brown has sung “Living in America”. And then in 2006, 30 years after the original film, against everyone’s expectations (again), Sylvester Stallone made an incredible return to his beloved character in Rocky Balboa. This film has all the heart and sentiment that make the original so loved and on top of that it has my favourite quote of all time when Rocky is talking to his adult son, Rocky Jnr about life…

“…it ain't about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!...”

(There’s more to that speech which I recommend looking up).

Rocky is more than a boxing movie. It’s a love story and the story of a man trying to be the best he can be with what he’s been given.

Happy 40^th Rocky.

I love you.