Entire Flyers Roster Arrives at NHL Outdoor Game Dressed Like Rocky

It doesn’t get more Philly than this.

There is an adage, attributed to historian Jacques Barzun, that “whoever wants to know the heart and mind of America had better learn baseball.”

Well, along similar lines, whoever wants to know the heard and mind of Philadelphia had better learn the Rocky movie franchise.

Since its release in 1976, the tale of an Italian working-class boxer’s rise has served as a mirror into which the City of Brotherly Love looks and sees itself—for better or for worse.

On Saturday, the Philadelphia Flyers continued the civic tradition of embracing Rocky, dressing as the title character before a game against the New Jersey Devils.

The Flyers showed up to MetLife Stadium for the Stadium Series dressed as Rocky 🥊

(via @SportsCenter)pic.twitter.com/Rjy48Hv8j4

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) February 17, 2024

The game will be played at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., as part of the NHL’s Stadium Series. The New York Rangers and New York Islanders will play Sunday in the same venue.

Hilariously, the Flyers—for all their underdog posturing—enter the game with the better record, coming in at 29-19-7 while the Devils carry a ledger of 29-19-7.