'Rocky III': 10 reasons we still love 80s movie, from 'Eye of the Tiger' to Mr. T

Pity the fool that doesn't celebrate the 40th anniversary of "Rocky III" properly.  

The third installment of the Rocky franchise was released on May 28, 1982. The film continued the saga of heavyweight champion Rocky Balboa and introduced one of the best sports movie villains ever in Clubber Lang. 

It's the first Rocky sequel released in the 1980s, and there is no doubt the movie is awesomely 80s in every way possible. The Sporting News looks back at 10 things we revere most about "Rocky III": 

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'Eye of the Tiger' 

As far as opening scenes go, "Rocky III" delivers a first-round TKO with a montage of Balboa's heavyweight title defenses set to Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger." 

"Rising up, back on the street  …" 

It's a hand-clapping jolt from the opening riff. Balboa mows through challengers ranging from Joe Czak and Big Yank Ball while going corporate in five minutes. There's Rocky on People, Newsweek and Inside Sports. There's Rocky shilling for De Lorean and Nikon. There's Rocky on "The Muppet Show."

It's all set to Survivor's rock anthem, which was nominated for a Grammy for the Song of the Year in 1983 but lost out to Willie Nelson's "Always on My Mind."

Which one of those songs are you turning up in the car? Which one of those songs is more popular at karaoke? Just finish this sentence for the class: "And the last known survivor, stalks his prey in the night .. " 

Clubber Lang

This is the breakout performance for Mr. T as the up-and-coming challenger for Balboa. While Rocky "got civilized," Lang viciously knocks out several opponents one by one to get his title shot. It comes with a series of quotable one-liners. 

"No, I don't hate Balboa! I pity the fool, and I will destroy any man who tries to take what I got!" 

The mohawk and feather earrings instantaneously became an unmistakable part of Mr. T's persona, and he didn't even join the "A-Team" yet. 

Thunderlips 

Before Hulk Hogan was a six-time WCW and WWE heavyweight champion, he was Thunderlips, the "Ultimate Male." He wanted a bite out of "the ultimate meatball." 

This is the scene where the Rocky franchise jumps from Oscar contender to awesomely 80s material, and you can't help but stare like a zombie after Mickey Goldmill says, "To fight a creature like this, you gotta have about 100 pounds of brain damage." 

You might have 100 pounds of brain damage after watching this eight-minute scene, but it's left us with one existential question: If Balboa doesn't body slam Thunderlips, then does Hulk Hogan body slam Andre The Giant at WrestleMania III? 

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Paulie Pennino 

Rocky's brother-in-law, played by Burt Young, provides comic relief once again. This isn't his best movie; he slides between jealousy and complaining throughout the film and even challenges Rocky to a fight in the parking garage after being arrested. Paulie asks for a job after all that. All that lands him as a job as a cornerman. Say what you want about Paulie, but he makes it through to the sixth Rocky movie — "Rocky Balboa" — in 2009. You don't get that far without those Philly street smarts. 

The Rocky Statue 

Stallone commissioned A. Thomas Schomberg to create a statue before the making of "Rocky III." In the movie, it is a prop for the Rocky "retirement" press conference that Lang crashes, which leads to a heated exchange with Mickey. 

"Shut up, old man." 

Lang also goes after Rocky's wife Adrian, and that prompts Rocky to come out of retirement. More on that statue in a bit. 

Mickey's death scene 

Seriously, it's one of the most heart-breaking death scenes in any movie ever. How does it not crack the Top 50? It's not Tony Stark in "Avengers: Endgame." Or is it? 

Mick suffers a heart attack before the first fight between Balboa and Lang, a fight which Lang wins to claim the heavyweight title. Mickey then passes away afterward. Stallone's sobbing is as real as it gets, and it is a precursor to an even-more emotional death in "Rocky IV."

Adrian's speech 

Talia Shire breaks out in "Rocky III" in the role of Adrian, and that comes to a head in a speech on the beach with Balboa, where she emerges as his strongest voice. 

Balboa, wrestling with whether he can fight Lang again, asks the question: "And if I lose?"

That's when Adrian drops a line that should be quoted more often: "Then you lose, but at least you lose with no excuses. No fear, and I know you can live with that."

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Apollo Creed

Lang's only mistake in the first fight was the brush-off with former heavyweight champion Apollo Creed before the match. 

"You better get that bad look off your face before I knock it off," Lang warns Creed. 

That spawns one of the strongest bromances of the 80s. "The Master of Disaster" and "The Italian Stallion" become best friends forever. Creed trains Balboa in his old gym and teaches the bruiser how to become a boxer. He even brings Tony "Duke" Evers, masterfully played by Tony Burton, along for the ride. 

Any excuse to get the "Gonna Fly Now" montage. You knew at that point Lang was going down in the rematch when Creed gave Balboa his red, white, and blue trunks.

Meme-o-rability 

We dare you to scroll through Twitter on any given day and not come across a Rocky III GIF. 

"Pain." That's Lang's prediction for the right. No doubt. 

Rocky and Apollo hugging in the ocean after their run on the beach. Yep, it's got that. 

"Ding! Ding!" Rocky and Apollo in their final sparring session in a gym. Of course you will see that too. 

"Rocky IV," of course, has more meme material with the emergence of Ivan Drago, but "Rocky III" set that table. "Family Guy" and other TV shows have offered endless parodies of "Rocky III," which has kept this movie going for 40 years. 

'Rocky III' lasting legacy 

There are six Rocky movies and two Creed installments in the franchise. Among those eight movies on the Rotten Tomatoes scale, "Rocky III" ranks sixth on the tomatometer and audience scale. 

It gets lost in the shuffle, sometimes, but the cultural impact today lives on. 

"Eye of the Tiger" is still played every day in major sports arenas and fitness gyms. Endless youth sports coaches still borrow Mickey's motivational material. Hulk Hogan and Mr. T became front-page 80s cultural icons. Stallone used that action-hero aura to keep the Rocky and Rambo franchises rolling into the third decade of the 21st century. The Rocky Statue is next to the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art; a must-see attraction ranked between the Liberty Bell and the Betsy Ross House. 

Name another movie that's got all that going for it 40 years later. 

Is "Rocky III" the best movie? No. Is it awesomely-bad 80s to its core? Absolutely. Will it live another 40 years? Once we stop doing our best Rocky, Clubber, Apollo and Mick impersonations, we can only ask you finish one more sentence in your best high-pitched singing voice. 

"Don't lose your grip on the dreams of the past ... "