Hoping for a Rocky Moment

Rocky II is not by any stretch a message movie. It's an action movie that is by most accounts greatly inferior to its predecessor. But it holds a special spot in my heart, as I can remember with vivid detail being nine or ten years old and watching the television debut, crowded around a nine-inch black-and-white TV, with my entire family, wildly screaming at Rocky to get up off the canvas.

What I remember about subsequent viewings (and there have been many), however, is not the fight, but the "gong moment." What was the gong moment and why do I bring it up today?

Well the movie takes a long time to unfold. Rocky had lost a split-decision to Apollo Creed and tried to find a life outside of boxing. When Creed asks for a rematch to prove to the world that the last fight was a fluke, Rocky, out of other options, agrees. His wife, Adrian, does not support his decision. At one point she tells him, harshly, "You can't win!" Rocky goes about his training lackadaisically, exasperating his trainer, Mickey. This goes on for about 90 minutes. Then pregnant Adrian hurts herself lifting something heavy, gives birth and goes into a coma. He waits seemingly days at her bedside for her to revive. When she does come to, and Rocky's just happy that she's conscious and can meet their son, she says:

"You can do one thing for me."

"What's that?" says Rocky.

"Win. Win!"

Then there's the gong. At this point Mickey loses his mind with delight and exclaims "well what are we waitin' for?" Cut to Rocky training in earnest: one-armed pushups, catching chickens, running through the streets with a million kids in tow, etc.

My point is, almost thirty years later, our nation is at war. Those who "support the troops" tell them that the war is "lost." How might our troops react -- and how might our jihadi enemies react -- should our Democratic congressmen wake from their comas one day and say, "Win, Ameria. Win!"