Fans Put 49ers T-Shirt on Philadelphia Rocky Statue Ahead of NFC Championship

Want to needle your opponent before an NFL playoff game? San Francisco fans have the blueprint.
Fans Put 49ers T-Shirt on Philadelphia Rocky Statue Ahead of NFC Championship
Fans Put 49ers T-Shirt on Philadelphia Rocky Statue Ahead of NFC Championship /

Here are instructions for getting under another city’s skin ahead of an NFL playoff game.

Step one: Identify a film essential to the town's self-image. Say, Rocky, in the event your opponent happens to be the Eagles

Step two: Draw a connection between that film's protagonist, the underdog boxer who surprises the reigning champ, and your own team's quarterback, the final pick in last year's NFL draft who rose from third on the depth chart to within a victory of the Super Bowl.

Step three: Locate a statue of Rocky in the shadow of one of the City of Brotherly Love's most recognizable landmarks — the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Step four: Drape a 49ers shirt over said statue.

San Francisco fans followed that script to a T this week ahead of the 49ers' showdown with Philadelphia in the NFC championship Sunday afternoon. 

They also took to calling quarterback Brock Purdy "Brocky," as the seventh-round pick teeters on the brink of becoming the first rookie to lead his team to the Super Bowl.


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Patrick Andres
PATRICK ANDRES

Patrick Andres is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in December 2022, having worked for The Blade, Athlon Sports, Fear the Sword and Diamond Digest. Andres has covered everything from zero-attendance Big Ten basketball to a seven-overtime college football game. He is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism with a double major in history .