The theme to Rocky isn't Gonna Fly Now

Just read a review from a screening of Rocky Balboa. The following is x-posted from some thoughts I posted there:

The theme to Rocky is about proving something to yourself , legacy and how you want people to remember you.

"It really don't matter if I lose this fight. It really don't matter if this guy opens my head, either. 'Cause all I wanna do is go the distance. No one's ever gone the distance with Creed, and if I can go that distance, you see, and that bell rings and I'm still standing, I'm gonna know for the first time in my life, see, that I weren't just another bum from the neighborhood."

Even earlier when he has that talk with Marie. "Yo, a bad reputation -- Twenty years from now people will say D'you remember Marie?' 'No, who was she?' 'She was that little whore who hung out at the Atomic Hoagie Shop.' 'Oh, now I remember!'... See, they don't remember you, they remember the rep." He's talking about himself just as much as he is about her (not the whore part, the rep part.)

For him to come back to this theme would bring things full circle. It would be natural for him to be upset for people to remember him as a statistic for his boxing record and not what he accomplished as a person. They in fact don't remember that he went the distance, rather that he lost. He would feel the need to drive the point home again the only way he knows how, through boxing. What would be nice is if Rocky were to realize his legacy was his impact and influence on others. There are so many surrounding characters we could see that in: his son, surviving members of Apollo and Mick's families or maybe even some redemption for Tommy Gunn. Ultimately what will determine what kind of movie this will be is going to be the message. If the message is that you can still do great things when you're old it's not going to cut it.