Letting Go

 Carl Weathers was a bad guy. I know this not because any character he played in some movie had him using a PC instead of a Mac. No friends, long before the advent of the home computer, the die was cast for Mister Weathers. 

He was an Oakland Raider. Sure, he only played eight games for the Silver and Black, but this marked him in my book. He was the enemy. 

So it came as no real surprise when he showed up as Apollo Creed in the Rocky movies. Yes, I know that the intense bond between the Italian Stallion and his arch nemesis grew to something akin to brotherhood, but I couldn't ever really trust him. He had already committed to the "just win baby" philosophy. 

Not only did he seem intent on finding every opportunity to pummel Sylvester Stallone into hamburger, but he also sent Arnold Schwarzenegger off to the jungles of South America to be preyed upon by a Predator. 

And then there was the three long months that I had to stare at the cardboard standee of him promoting his starring role in the home video release of Action Jackson. The fact that if I had held onto that instead of some of the other detritus from my video store days, I would be sitting on almost three hundred dollars. 

Then there's the ultra-creepy way that he keeps showing up in ads for The Kick Of Destiny, a part of the celebration of all things Super Bowl this weekend. The fact that the game will be held this year in, you guessed it, the Las Vegas Raiders' stadium makes the circle complete. 

Carl Weathers died last week at the age of seventy-six. And as it turns out, he was a pretty decent fellow with a sense of humor about himself and what he did. So while he did stomp on Sylvester Stallone from time to time, he also managed to find some time for the Terra as well. 

Aloha, Carl. I forgive you.