{"id":4262,"date":"2026-06-18T20:35:55","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T20:35:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4262"},"modified":"2026-06-18T20:35:55","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T20:35:55","slug":"brazilian-soccer-fans-at-the-world-cup-heed-warning-not-to-dress-rocky-statue-in-team-gear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4262","title":{"rendered":"Brazilian soccer fans at the World Cup heed warning not to dress Rocky statue in team gear"},"content":{"rendered":"
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FILE – Visitors gather around the Rocky Statue during RockyFest 2024 at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Dec. 3, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo\/Tassanee Vejpongsa, File)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

PHILADELPHIA \u2014 Brazilian fans that went the distance up the Philadelphia Museum of Art steps to pose with the Rocky statue<\/a> left the fictional fighter just as they found him.<\/p>

Read more Mike Fox\u2019s ties to Tar Heels strong as ever in retirement. CWS title would fulfill a lifelong dream<\/a><\/p>\n

Every Brazilian fan \u2014 in Philadelphia to watch their national team play Haiti<\/a> on Friday at the World Cup<\/a> \u2014 that stopped for a snapshot or a selfie with the 9-foot-11, 1,300-pound beast left the statue dressed in only his bronze trunks and boots.<\/p>\n

No taking chances of getting hit by the Rocky curse.<\/p>\n

Yes, the Rocky statue, long a symbol of resilience, heart and the unbreakable bond between Rocky and the people of Philadelphia, has taken a few more hits of late (even in retirement).<\/p>\n

Visiting American sports fans have long learned the hard way that dressing the statue with colorful jerseys, scarfs, hats, anything found in your local Rally House, has only meant that team would suffer a knockout blow at the home of the local Philly team.<\/p>\n

Scoff all you want.<\/p>\n

The bad fortune stretched to soccer when fans of the Ecuador\u2019s national team took over the Rocky steps and sang and danced and waved flags and … dressed Rocky in a team jersey and tied the country\u2019s flag around the fictional fighter\u2019s neck.<\/p>\n

It didn\u2019t go well.<\/p>\n

Amad Diallo scored in the 90th minute<\/a> to lift Ivory Coast to a 1-0 victory<\/a> over Ecuador in its first World Cup<\/a> appearance in a dozen years.<\/p>\n

And there ain\u2019t gonna be no rematch.<\/p>\n

Brazil fans noticed the outcome and one of their fan groups, the Green and Yellow Movement, urged visitors to keep their clothing to themselves.<\/p>\n

\u201c ANTENCAO TORCEDOR<\/a> !\u201d the Instagram post warned.<\/p>\n

Everyone is paying attention.<\/p>\n

The translated text read: \u201cIt\u2019s totally forbidden to put a Brazil shirt on the Rocky statue in Philly!!!!!\u201d<\/p>\n

Even Visit PA cheekily got in on the fun and tried to warn foreigners that \u2014 just like Ivan Drago learned the hard way \u2014 Rocky was not to be messed with.<\/p>\n

\u201cCountless football teams (as in American Football, not F\u00fatbol \u2014 same curse, different sport) have all dressed the Rocky Statue in their colors and gone on to lose,\u201d the Instagram post<\/a> said. \u201cEcuador dressed Rocky last weekend Coincidence? Sadly, history says no.<\/p>\n

\u201cPhiladelphia can\u2019t wait to host you! (but Rocky does not need your kit)\u201d<\/p>\n

Brazilian fans paid heed to the warning through Thursday afternoon, and scores of fans simply took the spot in front of the statue and raised their arms in triumph just as Rocky did after so many fights, and many, many movies.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a moment in Brazil,\u201d said Lorival Guerreiro, who traveled from Limeira, Brazil, for the World Cup. \u201cThey promote this place to celebrate before the game. The Brazilians come here to celebrate our team.\u201d<\/p>

Read more PWHL\u2019s Charge staying in Ottawa after reaching deal to play in NHL Senators\u2019 arena, AP sources say<\/a><\/p>\n

When the bronze statue was left on the steps after filming the \u201cRocky\u201d movies, the museum fought to have it removed. It was eventually relocated to South Philadelphia before returning to the bottom of the steps in 2006. The statue was a huge hit and became a point of pilgrimage for people around the world.<\/p>\n

According to the Philadelphia Visitor Center, about 4 million people visit the steps each year \u2014 rivaling the nearby Liberty Bell in annual foot traffic. The pop culture icon was recently moved to the top of the steps.<\/p>\n

Roberto De Freitas, a native of Porto Alegre who now lives in Florida and is attending his third World Cup, climbed the steps for a photoshoot with perhaps Philadelphia\u2019s most famous landmark. He was dressed in Brazil\u2019s colors \u2014 down to the green sneakers \u2014 and was set to attend Friday\u2019s game.<\/p>\n

He hoped five-time World Cup champion Brazil would take a page from Rocky\u2019s corner and win some more.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have five titles,\u201d De Freitas said. \u201cWe are trying to get that sixth one.\u201d<\/p>\n

De Freitas had not yet heard of the Rocky curse but had no plans to tempt fate once he learned of the potential consequences.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what they said,\u201d he asked with a laugh. \u201cI\u2019m for sure not going to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the record, De Freitas said \u201cRocky\u201d was his favorite of all the movies in the series.<\/p>\n

The Rocky Shop at the base of the steps was loaded with tourists who snaked their way through fighter T-shirts and plush offerings of Mr. T\u2019s character, Clubber Lang. Peruvian sports journalist Jampool Cuadros Estrada tried on a Rocky robe as a cameraman followed him around the store for their latest World Cup report.<\/p>\n

Philadelphia, home to nearly 6,000 Brazilian-born immigrants, has a bit of a recent connection with the South American country. The Philadelphia Eagles opened their Super Bowl championship season with a win over the Green Bay Packers in Brazil<\/a> in 2024.<\/p>\n

Facing pressure to win its first World Cup<\/a> title since 2002, Brazil was outplayed early and needed Vin\u00edcius J\u00fanior\u2019s 32nd-minute goal<\/a> to get a 1-1 draw<\/a> with Morocco on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Brazil now needs to beware Haiti \u2014 a noted heavy underdog, just like Rocky.<\/p>\n

\u201cBrazil has the pressure. Haiti has the freedom,\u201d Haitian singer Wyclef Jean wrote on social media. \u201cAnd sometimes freedom is the most dangerous thing on the pitch. I can\u2019t wait!!!!\u201d<\/p>

Read more MLB owners propose banning high school signings, adding an international draft<\/a><\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP World Cup: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/fifa-world-cup<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Brazilian fans visiting Philadelphia for the World Cup are avoiding dressing the Rocky statue in their team colors<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4260,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4262","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nBrazilian soccer fans at the World Cup heed warning not to dress Rocky statue in team gear - Moving Insider USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4262\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Brazilian soccer fans at the World Cup heed warning not to dress Rocky statue in team gear - Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Brazilian fans visiting Philadelphia for the World Cup are avoiding dressing the Rocky statue in their team colors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4262\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-18T20:35:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/f5e730ab3957df4bc7d99a7ba0c67d96-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4262#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4262\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03\"},\"headline\":\"Brazilian soccer fans at the World Cup heed warning not to dress Rocky statue in team gear\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-18T20:35:55+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4262\"},\"wordCount\":970,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4262#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/ece3732071f15c9e72427a9a3dfc800f-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4262#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4262\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4262\",\"name\":\"Brazilian soccer fans at the World Cup heed warning not to dress Rocky statue in team gear - Moving Insider USA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4262#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4262#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/ece3732071f15c9e72427a9a3dfc800f-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-18T20:35:55+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4262#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4262\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4262#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/ece3732071f15c9e72427a9a3dfc800f-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/ece3732071f15c9e72427a9a3dfc800f-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1707,\"caption\":\"FILE - Visitors gather around the Rocky Statue during RockyFest 2024 at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Dec. 3, 2024, in Philadelphia. 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