I guess you could consider Rocky as Philadelphia as the cheese steak or the Liberty Bell. As a Philadelphia native on the silver screen and forever memorialized in a bronze statute northeast of the Art Museum, Rocky Balboa was, and still is, and inspirational character.
However, so is Dottie Copeland. On NPR’s Storycorp, Dottie tells of her fight against Cancer and how she attacked an intimidating disease with Rocky Balboa vigor. By playing the Rocky theme song 24 hours a day she trained mentally and physically to battle her ultimate opponent. Reflecting on her fight with cancer and nine years of remission she declared, "I beat cancer for nine years. Will it come back tomorrow? It sure might. I've got to live my life as if it could end tomorrow — but everybody should live their life that way."
During the piece her daughter asked her how she wanted to be remembered, and she responded, “A woman that had a fighting spirit that raised three wonderful human beings. And I want them to remember that when I do pass on, they can say, 'She was one hell of a woman, and she had one great ride!'"
The next time I pass the Rocky Statue northeast to those famous Art Museum Steps, I’m sure I’ll hear Eye of the Tiger and think not of Rocky, but of Dottie Copeland.
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