In the fall of 1980 I was a third grader at Harmony Hills Elementary School endowed with the belief that the Pittsburgh Steelers were destined for One For the Thumb. The logic behind my thinking that Queen had written “We Are the Champions” for the Steelers was infallible – the Steelers were the champions. In an 8 year old’s mind, “were” communicated both past and future as well as present status.
Terry Bradshaw hands off to Rocky Bleier. Photo Credit:
So when ABC started running clips promoting Fighting Back: The Story of Rocky Bleier they had me hooked. Rocky Bleier wasn’t my favorite Steeler, that would have been Terry Bradshaw or Lynn Swann, but after my grandpa Bill saw me with a Steelers hat on a asked me if I was “Rocky Bleier,” Rocky shot up on my list.
There was one problem: It aired on Sunday night (December 7th to be exact), and it would end well past my bedtime. Now mom and dad were somewhat flexible about letting us stay up to watch stuff , but on this occasion, my mom wouldn’t budge.
- She let me watch up until the first commercial break, but then it was off to bed.
She promised me it would be on again in the summer as a rerun and I’d be able to see it then. ABC probably did show it again, but if they did, I was never aware of it.
While I never forgot, I never gave it too much thought. Until one day in an on-line chat while he was still at the Post-Gazette, a reader ask Ed Bouchette about the movie, and he responded with something like, “There are a lot of good sports movies out there, but the Rocky Bleier one isn’t one of them.”
- Someone else in the chat mentioned that the full movie was on YouTube.
Hum… This had potential. Obviously it took awhile, but two nights ago, with my wife off to Budapest I decided to finish what I started 16,059 days ago – Watch the rest of Fighting Back: The Story of Rocky Bleier.
And here is my review. Let’s cut to the chase:
My mother is a wise woman. She was right to send me to bed.
Let’s be clear, the movie has its moments. Robert Urich turns in a strong performance as Rocky Bleier. Art Carney does a believable impression of Art Rooney, Sr. who also narrates the story. And I suppose Richard Herd does a respectable job as Chuck Noll, given that Noll was every bit as inscrutable then has is now.
- Several of the Super Steelers got to play themselves.
So it’s really cool to see the locker room banter between Joe Greene, Dwight White, Gary Dunn, Bennie Cunningham and others. You almost get a fly on the wall feeling. The story’s opening is also strong – and I’m surprised at just how much I detail I remembered of what I’d seen as an eight-year-old.
The Vietnam sequence, given the production standards for a 1970’s made for TV movie is also up to par.
- But the story really does break down after Belier’s combat injury.
Instead of focusing on Rocky’s herculean and heroic rehabilitation and recovery, it leans hard into the romance between him and his future wife Aleta. I suppose the basics of how they met, when Aleta was married to someone else, and how they reconnected after her divorce are true.
But the actual plot that involves their courting and her agreeing marry Bleier is too predictable and “Ollywood” to the core (“Ollywood” pronounced ‘O-she-wood’ is an Argentine Spanish pronunciation of “Hollywood” that my wife and I revert to whenever something becomes too cliché.)
Seriously. If anyone who’d seen oh, say a couple of three, Hollywood TV productions from the 1970’s could have predicted their story arc and probably scripted much of the dialogue.
SPOILER ALERT: Not only does their romance wax and wane, but in the movie, Bleier’s doubts about their future haunt him all the way to the day before Super Bowl IX. Seriously. The other players pick up on it and start to worry as does Art Rooney. Rooney pulls him aside for a private chat, but Rocky continues to brood and sulk…
…Until suddenly and unexpectedly, the night before the game Aleta appears and all is well.
- That’s a shame from a critical perspective.
Because Rocky Bleier is a true American hero with an incredible story that inspires everyone. The plot could have and should have been woven around his struggles with rehab and subsequent comeback.
As Andy Russell details in a Steeler Odyssey, Bleier suffered several set backs and there were multiple moments when his football career would have ended had he been anyone else or been playing for any other team.
And while the movie does draw parallels between Rocky’s finding his form as a football player and the evolution of the Steelers Dynasty, this is what should be the central focus of the story.
With a touch of clever script crafting, they could have molded the narrative so that the story’s football climax was Rocky Bleier’s touchdown catch and on sides kick recovery in Super Bowl XIII.
Happy Birthday @RockyBleier
Super Bowl XIII#Steelers pic.twitter.com/FITX2xqMcS— Old Time Football (@Ol_TimeFootball) March 5, 2021
So be it. Fighting Back: The Story of Rocky Bleier is a product of its times and overall is above average for a 1970’s made for TV movie.
Fortunately, its freely available (as of 12/24) on YouTube – complete with O.J. Simpson Hertz commercials and promos for shows like Eight is Enough and Hart to Hart.
