The 'Rocky Curse': The superstition that is scaring Brazilian fans in Philadelphia

Philadelphia is the city where, 250 years ago, the United States Declaration of Independence was signed. But it’s also the city that served as the backdrop for one of the most iconic sports films of all time. Right here in the city of the Liberty Bell, Rocky was filmed, made immortal by Sylvester Stallone’s performance.

Among the scenes that have marked generations of viewers around the world is the training montage of the Italian-American boxer, culminating in the famous run up the 72 steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

And it’s right here, a destination for millions of tourists every year and for the next few weeks, for fans arriving for the World Cup, that one of the city’s most famous sports superstitions was born: the so-called Rocky Curse.

According to many Philadelphia fans, dressing the Rocky statue in a team’s colours brings bad luck to that team. Over the years, it has happened several times that opponents of the Philadelphia Eagles, after adorning the statue with their shirts or flags, ended up losing the game.

And recently, the curse is said to have struck a chord with a national team taking part in the North American World Cup.

"Before the match against Ivory Coast, some Ecuador fans, said a Brazilian fan who came from Miami for the Friday match against Haiti – had decorated the statue with their national flags. The result? A 1-0 defeat, conceded in the final minutes."

Around here, the superstition is taken so seriously that even the Philadelphia tourism board has asked fans visiting for the World Cup not to dress the statue in their national team shirts.

Coincidence or curse? In Philadelphia, many seem to have little doubt. And, in the spirit of “it may not be true, but I believe it,” even the organised Brazilian fans, who have planned a gathering right in front of the Rocky statue, have asked everyone on social media not to cover it with green and yellow flags or shirts ahead of the match against Haiti.

A gesture that was probably appreciated by the notoriously superstitious Carlo Ancelotti as well.