PHILADELPHIA -- On Nov. 21, 1976, audiences met Rocky Balboa, the southpaw boxer from south Philadelphia. Four decades later, Sylvester Stallones lovable character resonates with fans drawn to his underdog tale of determination, grit and sleepy-eyed charm.The reach of Rocky is international, and the film serves as a slice of Americana. It is shorthand for Philadelphia as much as the Liberty Bell or Benjamin Franklin.Anytime we are speaking to overseas visitors ... the conversation always turns, at some point, to `Rocky, said Julie Coker Graham, president of the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau. They ask, `Have you met Rocky? A lot of them think its an actual, real-life person.On the films 40th anniversary, a few reasons for its enduring legacy:---LOVABLE UNDERDOGWritten by Stallone in three days, fans fell hard for the ballad of Rocky Balboa. For the uninitiated (SPOILER ALERT): The small-time boxer from the heavily Italian neighborhood of South Philly stumbles into a bout with the heavyweight champion of the world, Apollo Creed, fighting in the city to celebrate Americas bicentennial. To get him into fighting shape, Rocky (played by Stallone) is trained by the peppery Mickey Goldmill (Burgess Meredith), whose many one-liners make him a frequent scene stealer. Rocky also finds love in the film with sheepish neighborhood pet store clerk, Adrian (Talia Shire). Though he ultimately loses the fight, Rocky proves himself and wins Adrians heart, making him the winner of much more than a title.The film itself was a long shot, made on a budget of only $1 million and shot in 28 days, with a largely unknown cast, including Stallone himself. And it was shot in working-class Philadelphia, a city that -- despite its roots as the crucible of freedom -- had long had a chip on its shoulder as second-tier as compared to more cultured East Coast metropolises like New York and Boston. (It is worth noting that the film had its premiere in New York.)---CHEERS FOR ROCKYWhat the movie lacked in beauty, it made up for in heart, something that resonated with audiences worldwide. The film was the highest-grossing of the year, earning $117 million at the North American box office and another $107 million overseas. Rocky received 10 Oscar nominations in nine categories at the Academy Awards, winning three: best picture, best director (John G. Avildsen) and best film editing. Stallone, Burgess and Shire were all nominated in acting categories, and Stallone was nominated for his screenplay.Rocky is preserved in the Library of Congress National Film Registry as being culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant. It was also ranked one of the greatest sports films ever made and is the second-best film about boxing behind Raging Bull, according to the American Film Institute.---GONNA FLY NOWThe score for Rocky, which was also nominated for an Oscar, was penned by Bill Conti. The main song, Gonna Fly Now, was originally intended as filler for the training sequence marking Rockys journey from amateur to contender. The opening fanfare is among the most recognizable in American culture, and the soaring melody that plays on the melancholic theme woven throughout the movie is the backdrop to Rocky doing impressive one-armed pushups, punching meat in his girlfriends brothers butcher shop and running through Philadelphias Italian Market, along the Schuylkill River and past the shipyards.Conti went on to win an Oscar for his score to 1983s The Right Stuff and made music recognizable to millions in theme songs to Dynasty and Falcon Crest.---THE ROCKY STEPS AND STATUEThe montage climaxes in one of the films most memorable scenes, as Rocky bounds up the 72 steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, raising his arms in triumph. Four decades later, the run and pose atop the steps are re-created daily in Philadelphia, mostly by tourists. In 1982, a statue of Rocky commissioned by Stallone for Rocky III was placed in the spot where he stood in the original film. Its current home is just to the right of the steps and is a selfie stop for visitors.---ROCKYS NEXT CHAPTERThe original movie was followed by six sequels. In 2015, Rocky was reborn in Creed, the story of Adonis Creed, the son of his nemesis-turned-best friend, Apollo. An aging and dying Rocky trains Adonis for a brawl not unlike the grizzled boxers first fight nearly two generations earlier. The New York Times reviewed it as a dandy piece of entertainment, soothingly old-fashioned and bracingly up-to-date.Cowboys Jerseys 2020 . Mitch Holmberg added a goal and three assists. Connor Chartier also scored for the Chiefs (3-0-0). Luke Harrison spoiled Garrett Hughsons shutout bid with a power-play goal at 13:17 of the third period. The Spokane goaltender finished with 28 saves, including a Brandon Fushimi penalty shot in the second period that would have tied the game 1-1. Dallas Cowboys Pro Shop . The head of USA Boxing came out swinging Tuesday with an open letter to Tyson -- a former Olympic hopeful himself -- that accuses the former heavyweight champion of trying to poach fighters who might be candidates for the U. https://www.cowboysjerseysale.com/ . Pirlo limped out of Sundays 1-0 win over Udinese after just 13 minutes. Juventus says Pirlo underwent tests on Monday which revealed he has "a second-degree lesion to the collateral medial ligament in his right knee. Dallas Cowboys Store . The Canadian squad, skipped by Jennifer Jones of Winnipeg, got on the board first with two in the second end, and followed that with two more apiece in the fourth and sixth ends. Cowboys Jerseys 2021 . A knee to the thigh might have stung him the most, but his sixth straight double-double made up for the brief burst of pain.WEST BROMWICH, England -- Dele Alli scored an 89th-minute goal to rescue a late point for Tottenham in a 1-1 draw at West Bromwich Albion in the English Premier League on Saturday.A fifth straight win for Spurs would have put them top of the league for the first time this season but they looked like losing when Nacer Chadli -- a former Tottenham player -- put West Brom ahead in the 82nd minute.Alli finally broke the resistannce of West Brom and its overworked goalkeeper Ben Foster when he turned home a finish from 10 meters, after Christian Eriksens shot deflected into his teammates path.ddddddddddddFoster twice saved from Alli and also denied Erik Lamela, Ben Davies and Eriksen, as Spurs took control from the start. ' ' '