Sylvester Stallone Decides to Let Philly Keep Original Rocky Statue
Plus, yes, we made yet another national food list.
Sylvester Stallone with the original Rocky statue, which he has decided to let the city keep (Getty Images)
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Sylvester Stallone Decides to Let Philly Keep Original Rocky Statue
Oh, what a difference a day makes! Yesterday, I told you that Sylvester Stallone wanted his original Rocky statue back – the one that has been sitting at the bottom of the Art Museum steps every day and night for two decades – and that the city intended to give it back to him. Stallone had loaned the city another casting of the same Rocky statue, which has been sitting at the top of the Art Museum steps since last year (for the inaugural, month-long RockyFest,) and the plan was for Philly to keep that one. Not the original and not the one that has so much history and selfies and Philly grit behind it.
But 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.”
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.
More on this as it develops.
Shapiro Watch
A Pennsylvania Senate committee wants to know how Governor Shapiro is using taxpayer dollars to make security updates to his personal home in Abington following the arson attack on his official government residence, so they have subpoenaed the administration. “No administration — Republican or Democrat — should be allowed to operate in the shadows when public funds are involved,” wrote the Republican chair of that panel in a statement. “Are we just going to give every future governor a blank check to spend on security without any oversight?” Some Democratic members of the committee expressed concerns over the issuing of the legislative subpoena, a rarely used tool in the state.
From the Department of Lists
Another day, another national food list that Philly makes. This time, Mawn’s banh chow salad has landed on “The 23 Best Restaurant Dishes We Ate Across the U.S. in 2025” in the New York Times. For more on what makes Mawn tick, check out Philly Mag restaurant critic Jason Sheehan’s deep dive into that very subject in the November issue of the magazine.
By the Numbers
2: Brothers in South Jersey arrested on Tuesday for allegedly taking to social media and threatening to “shoot ICE on sight.” However you feel about ICE, pretty sure this is a bad way to proceed.
12-1: Odds now on the Philadelphia Eagles to win the Super Bowl, according to online gambling sites. That’s not good. Let’s see how they do this Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders, who are tied for the second-worst team in the entire league, in the good company of the Tennessee Titans. So, can we still win the NFC East? Yes, we can. Our main competition? Yep, the Cowboys. Ugh.
28,979: Chickie’s & Pete’s Crabfries served at Xfinity Mobile Arena over a recent stretch of nine days when the area, formerly known as the Wells Fargo Center, hosted ten big events. And because Crabfries go so well with beer, I should mention that 6,247 gallons of it were served.
Local Talent
Why play one Philly venue in one weekend when you can play two? That seems to be the philosophy of Philly punk rock stalwarts The Starting Line, who will play the TLA on Friday night and then hit the Fillmore on Saturday. The band recently released their fourth studio album, Eternal Youth, and I quite like this single. For more info on the shows, go here.
