philadelphia rocky tour

Rocky Movie Locations Private Driving Tour

Quick Details

• Hour Glass Duration: 4-8 Hours
• Ticket Tour Type: Driving
• Calendar Day Of Week: Daily
• Clock Start Time: Variable
• Lock Private Only?: Private Tour
• Info Note: For up to 6 People

Half-Day Tour

A half-day private Rocky movie sites tour allows you the opportunity to take full advantage of being on a Philadelphia driving tour. You’ll visit all of the must-see spots from the classic Rocky films, with time to explore locations from other movies and unique neighborhoods. 

You’ll want to take a drive through the Italian Market, the historic stretch of generations-owned eateries and produce stands that Rocky passed on his morning runs (look out for flying oranges!). It’s here in this South Philly neighborhood where you might want to stop for a Whiz Wit at famous Pat’s King of Steaks cheesesteak restaurant.

We can continue down to East Passyunk, lined with excellent restaurants and bars, to see the church where Rocky married Adriane.

Of course, a Rocky tour would not be complete without a stop at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where you can pump an iconic Rocky pose after a sprint to the top of the museum steps. Your guide will be happy to snap your photo with the likeness of the boxing champion, whose larger-than-life sculpture stands just to the side of the museum steps.

Full-Day Tour

A full-day Philadelphia sightseeing tour gives you the chance to explore filming locations from all of the Rocky movies, including the more recent Creed spin-off franchise! We’ll have the chance to travel farther into South Philly to see the dockyards and the site where the Spectrum arena once stood, grab lunch at Max’s (as seen in Creed), and explore the neighborhoods where many scenes for Creed were filmed. 

We can cover even more ground with a ride up to the East Falls neighborhood of Philadelphia, where we can enter the beautiful and historic Laurel Hill Cemetery. Your tour guide will drive you to the actual gravesite of the film’s fictional character Adrian, wife of Rocky Balboa.

During your private Philly driving tour, let your local guide know anything else on your Rocky film sites wishlist as well as any recommendations for where to eat, drink, shop, and sightsee in the city!

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• Private Transportation

Not Included

• Food and Drink
• Tips/Guide Gratuity

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Best of Philadelphia Food Tour

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A Guide to the Rocky Statue and the Rocky Steps

Two of the most famous attractions in philadelphia....

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The Rocky Statue and The Rocky Steps

• 2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway at Kelly Drive Philadelphia, PA 19130
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The Rocky Statue and the “Rocky Steps”  are undeniably two of the most popular attractions in Philadelphia.

A near-constant flow of people arrive daily at the bottom of the stairs at the Philadelphia Museum of Art to snap a picture with the Rocky statue, originally created for a scene in Rocky III and now a real-life monument to a celluloid hero who endures as a favorite fictional son of the City of Brotherly Love.

Visitors then often hustle up the museum’s grand stairway to try their hand at the famous two-arms-raised salute — all while soaking up picture-perfect views of the Philadelphia skyline.

In short, visiting the statue, running up the steps and taking a picture at the top is a must on any first visit to Philadelphia. Consider it a rite of passage. Here’s how to do it.

The Essentials

Visiting the statue, running up the steps and taking a picture at the top is a must on any first visit to Philly.

The Rocky Statue  — a larger-than-life boxer — is one of Philadelphia’s most famous pieces of public art .

The fictional Rocky Balboa of Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky movies was immortalized in bronze by artist A. Thomas Schomberg in 1980 for a scene in the film  Rocky III .

After the filming was complete, Stallone donated the statue to the City of Philadelphia.

Since 2006, the statue has been located at the bottom of the stairs at the Philadelphia Museum of Art , and there is a near-constant stream of people waiting in line to get their pictures taken with the “Italian Stallion.”

Snap a photo with the Rocky Statue, then run up the Rocky Steps.   — Photo by J. Fusco for Visit Philadelphia

Just as famous as the statue are the steps leading to the east entrance of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, aka “The Rocky Steps.” Each year, tens of thousands of people recreate the scene from the legendary movie and make the trek up the steps.

Just be prepared to work for it — those 72 steps don’t climb themselves.

Snapping a photo with the Rocky Statue and running up the Rocky Steps is free . The Philadelphia Museum of Art has extensive info on getting to the museum area, which is accessible via walking, biking, public transit, ride share or driving.

The Rocky Shop

Find the perfect gift for the Rocky fan in your life, or don officially licensed Rocky merchandise — including Italian Stallion robes and boxing shorts — before making your trek up the steps. It’s all available at the Rocky Shop inside the Philadelphia Visitors Center’s Parkway Outpost at the base of the famous staircase.

Also available in the modular store: Philly-themed merch, visitor information, and tickets to some of Philly’s top museums and attractions.

Rocky Tour of Philadelphia

Want to follow in Rocky’s actual footsteps? Check out our Rocky & Creed Tour of Philadelphia for a self-guided trek to city attractions and locations seen in the Rocky films.

Recreate the boxer’s famous run up the Philadelphia Museum of Art steps; grab an authentic cheesesteak at Pat’s, the very place where he stopped in the original Rocky ; walk through the Italian Market and then stop by an old-school butcher shop, where (sorry) they’re probably not going to let visitors go to the back in order to use the hanging meat as a punching bag.

Also included: famous stops from the two popular Creed films, starring Sylvester Stallone and Michael B. Jordan.

More About the Philadelphia Museum of Art

Once the jog up the steps and photoshoot are complete, visitors should strongly consider heading inside the Philadelphia Museum of Art , one of the largest art museums in the country.

Rising majestically at the end of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway , the museum houses vast collections of Renaissance, American and impressionist art, as well as spaces and galleries designed by Frank Gehry that opened in May 2021.

Bonus: On the first Sunday of the month and every Friday after 5 p.m., the Philadelphia Museum of Art offers pay-what-you-wish admission.

On the first Sunday of the month and every Friday after 5 p.m., admission to the Philadelphia Museum of Art is pay-what-you-wish.   — Photo by Visit Philadelphia

A ticket grants two consecutive days of admission to the museum along with admission to the nearby Rodin Museum , which houses one of the largest public collections of Auguste Rodin’s works outside of Paris, including bronze casts of The Thinker  and  The Gates of Hell.

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The Perfect Hotel Package for an Easy Philly Escape

The  Visit Philly Overnight Package — booked more than 190,000 times since 2001 — comes with free hotel parking (worth up to $100 in Center City Philadelphia), overnight hotel accommodations and choose-your-own-adventure perks.

Quintessential Rocky & Creed Tour of Philadelphia

City attractions and locations seen in the Rocky and Creed films...

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Philadelphia: Rocky Movie Locations Tour

Explore Philadelphia and join the Rocky Movie Locations Tour ! Live an extraordinary experience with a certified local guide you will have the opportunity to see the main sites of the great Rocky’s story!

Millions of tourists each year gather to take photos and visit the main movie locations of Rocky Balboa . Discover with the tour on Rocky’s steps the main points of the most beloved movie in all of Philadelphia.

So, let’s get started!

You, too, climb the 72 steps in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art , the place where Rocky used to jog and which has remained the landmark location in every movie! From up here, reach the statue of Rocky, commissioned for the movie Rocky III .

Visit the conical 9th Street Italian Market , where Rocky used to pass in his jogging sessions. Also, to this day it is the oldest and largest outdoor market in all of Pennsylvania ! Inside you can buy great meat at Esposito’s , where the mighty Rocky used to box.

To make sure you don’t miss out on the best cheesy meat roll, head to Pat’s King of Steaks , where you’ll also find a plaque dedicated to the popular character!

Not to be missed is a visit to the Victor Cafe , which belonged to Rocky in the movies and where you can enjoy some excellent Italian dishes!

Walk to Independence Hall famous for being the backdrop for a training scene in Rocky II and an important national symbol.

On Rocky Movie Locations Tour you will admire the sites of Rocky’s most important scenes, such as Penn’s Landing, Johnny Brenda’s, the Filmore Philadelphia where you can enjoy some great live music; El bar, Max’s Steaks, Laurel Hill and West Laurel Hill Cemeteries , the location of one of the most moving moments in Rocky’s story, when the hero makes his way to the grave of his beloved Adriana.

In addition, during the tour Rocky Movie Locations Tour you can also visit the Philadelphia Zoo , Boathouse Row, JG Domestic, Schuylkill Banks Boardwalk , the breathtaking view that stretches from Locust Street to South Street and is where Adonis trained in Creed ; Rittenhouse Square , also known as the city’s main square, Irish pub and to finish at its best participate in the Rocky Run, 30 miles of the city as the great hero Rocky traveled!

In conclusion, choose Evolved Guide , the only platform where you can find all the tours for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania customized by each of our tour guides. Therefore, choose the guided tour based on the itinerary; duration; departure time; price, and offers. Therefore, evaluate the proposals of our local guides and choose the option that is right for you. In short, go home with a memory of Evolved Guide!

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It Happened Last Night: The Rolling Stones Took Over South Philly

Photos and dispatches from the packed (and hit-packed) performance.

Get a compelling long read and must-have lifestyle tips in your inbox every Sunday morning — great with coffee!

The Rolling Stones performing at Lincoln Financial Field in South Philadelphia as part of they Hackney Diamonds tour / Photography by Lisa Schaffer

The first thing you notice is the tailgating. Each makeshift hangout station has its own Rolling Stones soundtrack. So, as you make your way from the Broad Street Line to Lincoln Financial Field for Tuesday’s show, you listen to “Shattered” become “Angie,” which then morphs into “Waiting on a Friend,” and so on. This is a crowd that skews older and judging from the plethora of t-shirts from prior tours, it’s clear they’ve seen this band multiple times before.

A gargantuan arena show by British rock veterans is different enough from an Eagles game that a mild sense of chaos hung over Pattison Avenue as everyone tried to find the right entrance to the Linc. The copious security guards posted at every gate probably spent most of their time glancing at tickets and providing directions towards the correct entryway for each concertgoer.

The crowd was still filtering into the stadium as opening act Kaleo played their Icelandic blues rock. (That’s a genre?!) The band looked like Chris Stapleton roadies and sounded closer to Cinderella. Their last song was barely finished when the headliner’s crew made the gear switch with ruthless efficiency.

At 9:30 p.m., the Rolling Stones hit the stage with a somewhat de rigueur “Start Me Up.” The overwhelming size of their stage was immediately apparent: 180 feet wide by 65 feet deep, flanked by 46-foot-tall digital screens that showed the band and their eight auxiliary musicians from multiple angles.

Rolling Stones fans inside the Linc right after the show started

The Linc was packed. And because the Rolling Stones are old pros at playing stadiums, they long ago figured out how to give even the farthest reaches of the crowd a view of the stage.

It was impressive how vital they sounded for band led by two octogenarians. (As an aside, Amy Perlingiero of South Philadelphia enjoyed “how many times Mick [Jagger] took off a layer of clothing while performing, only to put something else on and remove it again during another song.”)

Collin and Holly Keefe of South Philadelphia got their tickets from a family member on Tuesday afternoon. They were especially excited to hear favorites like “She’s a Rainbow,” “Monkey Man” and “Tumbling Dice.” “I was really blown away by the energy,” Collin said. “These guys are like the same age as my dad (and President Joe Biden), and yet still rock it out on every song.”

The audience enthusiastically responded to a sing-along, gospel-inspired “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” Other highlights included “Gimme Shelter,” featuring an incendiary showcase from backing singer Chanel Haynes ; and the extended “Midnight Rambler” that showed off Jagger’s harmonica skills and a bluesy guitar interplay by Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood.

The band also played three songs from their most recent album, Hackney Diamonds — nominally the whole reason for this tour — though these were the songs during which people were most likely to sit back down, or hit the restrooms and concession stands.

As a frontman, Jagger is nothing if not well-rehearsed, rattling off trivia about prior Philly shows (they first played here in 1965 with Herman’s Hermits) and dropping references to the Phanatic, Gritty, and Tastykakes. His crack about an exchange program with the Stones in town and the Phillies in England got some nods; no one had the heart to tell Mick that the Fightins were already back in the U.S. and playing in Boston that night. And his showmanship was in full force: He did his pointing dance, his hand-clapping dance, and made numerous jaunts down the stage catwalk.

After a one-song encore of “Satisfaction” (what did you expect?), the show wrapped up at the two-hour mark. The road crew reappeared and moved fast, and the crowd moved slowly to the exits.

Want to see the Rolling Stones’ 2024 tour for yourself? You better act fast, because it all ends in July . Alas, the closest they’re getting to Philly after last night is Cleveland.

Bonus: Rolling Stones Fans in the Parking Lot

Before Philadelphia photographer Lisa Schaffer went into Lincoln Financial Field to catch the Rolling Stones show, we sent her out to the parking lot to meet some fans. Here are some photos from her fan interactions.

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We Tracked Down Kylie Kelce Shore Bully Andrée Goldberg

Josh kruger killer robert davis sentenced, i was *this close* to graduating from the university of the arts, mayor parker’s kensington crackdown intensifies in philadelphia, it happened last night: the rolling stones took over philadelphia, in this section.

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Thousands of fans pack Lincoln Financial Field for the Rolling Stones

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Tens of thousands of fans packed Lincoln Financial Field for one of the hottest concerts of the summer.

The Rolling Stones were in town Tuesday night. For many people, seeing them perform is a family affair.

We talked to fans who have been to more than 70 shows, some first timers and even one as young as eight years old.

"This will be my third Stones concert, so I'm excited to share it with the younger generation," said the Nguyen family.

People from all generations made their way to South Philadelphia.

"This is my first concert. I've always wanted to see the Stones. It's crazy, 40-50 years later they're putting on the show. So it's a real honor to be here," said Matthew Fritz, who came with his dad.

"My dad took me to see the Stones in 1966. My son is taking me to see at Lincoln Financial Field in 2024," said Bob Douglas who was here with his dad, also named Bob.

Fifty-eight years ago, the pair saw the Stones in Atlantic City. The band jumped out of a helicopter and walked feet away from them at the Steel Pier.

"I said Bob, 'That's the Rolling Stones.' He was six years old. I could pick him up and put him on my shoulders. They walked right by us," said the elder Douglas.

Decades later, Mick still has it, and their fan base proves that.

"We want to see Mick dance... just bring it. He's got a lot of life in him for his age," said Candice and Joe Kent, of Phoenixville.

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Review and Setlist: The Rolling Stones’ ‘Hackney Diamonds Tour at the Linc

T he Rolling Stones brought their Hackney Diamonds Tour to Lincoln Financial Field on Tuesday night in the storied band’s first Philadelphia performance since 2018.

It was also the first time ever without Charlie Watts playing drums.

Steve Jordan took his place on the throne previously occupied by Watts, who died in 2021. Jordan locked in with bass player Darryl Jones in supporting the astonishingly energetic Mick Jagger and guitarists Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood, the latter introduce by Jagger as “the Tintoretto of TastyKakes.”

The 19 1/2 song, one-hour-50 minute show started at 9:30 p.m. sharp with - what else? - “Start Me Up,” and closed with an encore of their 1965 hit “I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.”

In between, Jagger led the packed Eagles stadium in song on a gospel-fired “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” and sang “She’s A Rainbow,” on the request of fans, who selected it over three other songs in a preshow online poll. Richards took over the mic for mid-show for “Tell Me Straight,” from last year’s Hackney Diamonds album, plus Some Girls’ “Little T&A,” and Exile on Main Street’s “Happy.”

During his band introductions, Jagger showed a photo on the video screen of the Phillies Phanatic at Buckingham Palace last week, and said the band planned to bring the Phanatic and Gritty up to sing “but we can’t because they’re in London.” (Which of course, they’re not.)

Icelandic blues/rock band Kaleo opened the show.

Here’s the set list for the Rolling Stones at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on June 11, 2024.

This story will be updated with a full review.

“Start Me Up”

“It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll (but I Like It)”

“Let’s Spend The Night Together)”

“She’s A Rainbow”

“Monkey Man”

“Tumbling Dice”

“Mess It Up”

“You Can’t Always Get What You Want”

“Tell Me Straight”

“Little T&A”

“Sympathy for the Devil”

“Honky Tonk Women”

“Midnight Rambler” w / “You Gotta Move”

“Gimme Shelter”

“Paint It Black”

“Jumpin’ Jack Flash”

Encore : “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”

©2024 The Philadelphia Inquirer. Visit inquirer.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

10 potential trade chips whose stock is rising

Mark Feinsand

Trying to assess how this year’s Trade Deadline might play out can be an exercise in futility, with 24 of the 30 teams in the Majors entering play Tuesday within four games of a postseason spot.

That doesn’t mean we can’t give it a shot, right?

The White Sox, Angels, Athletics, Marlins and Rockies all figure to be sellers, while the Astros – who were 5 1/2 games out of an AL Wild Card spot despite their 30-37 record – appear to be leaning more toward buying than selling.

• Latest MLB trade rumors

The majority of teams will likely wait until mid-to-late July before making any buy-or-sell declarations, but here’s a look at 10 players (listed alphabetically, with all stats entering Tuesday) whose recent performances have their trade stock rising as we enter the middle of June.

Pete Alonso , 1B, Mets

Alonso was hitting .205 with a .710 OPS after the Mets’ game on May 6, but the slugger’s bat has come alive since then. The 29-year-old is hitting .281 with an .898 OPS, six home runs, 12 doubles and 16 RBIs over his past 29 games, including a .936 OPS over his past dozen. Alonso is earning $20.5 million in his final year prior to free agency, and while the Mets entered Tuesday eight games below .500 and 16 1/2 games out in the NL East, they were only 3 1/2 games out of an NL Wild Card spot.

Tyler Anderson , LHP, Angels

Anderson’s first year with the Angels resulted in a 5.43 ERA, a far cry from the 2.57 mark with the 2022 Dodgers that helped him land an All-Star selection and, ultimately, a three-year, $39 million deal in Anaheim. The southpaw’s second season with the Angels has been much better: He’s posted a 2.63 ERA in 13 starts – including a 2.20 mark in his past five. Anderson is earning $13 million this season and next, so an acquiring team would owe him roughly $20 million through the end of 2025.

Miguel Andujar , OF, Athletics

Andujar didn’t make his season debut until May 24 following knee surgery, but the 29-year-old has been productive in his first 14 games, hitting .321 with two home runs, 12 RBIs and an .828 OPS. Andujar, who finished second in 2018 AL Rookie of the Year voting with the Yankees but has struggled to find consistency (and opportunity) ever since, is earning $1.7 million this season and remains arbitration-eligible for one more year.

Josh Bell , 1B/DH, Marlins

Bell has been dealt in each of the past two summers, and given the state of the Marlins, it would be surprising if the 31-year-old didn’t make it a hat trick by this year’s Trade Deadline. Bell is hitting .333 with an .891 OPS, three home runs and 16 RBIs over his last 24 games, posting a 1.005 OPS over his last 11 contests. Bell’s $16.5 million salary is the largest on Miami’s roster, though he’ll be a free agent after the season.

Garrett Crochet , LHP, White Sox

Crochet’s first season as a starting pitcher has been the best development for the White Sox this season; the left-hander is 6-5 with a 3.33 ERA in his first 14 starts. After going 1-4 with a 5.97 ERA in his first seven outings, his last seven have been spectacular; Crochet – who turns 25 next week – is 5-1 with a 1.10 ERA since the beginning of May. Crochet is earning only $800,000 this season and is arbitration-eligible for two more years, making him perhaps the most valuable and sought-after trade candidate of the summer – assuming the White Sox have any plans to move him.

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Paul DeJong , SS, White Sox

Not much has gone right offensively on the South Side this season, but DeJong is having a resurgence, looking like the player who made an All-Star team with the Cardinals in 2019. DeJong has five home runs, 10 RBIs and a 1.043 OPS over his past 11 games, giving him 12 homers and 27 RBIs in 61 games this season. He still strikes out a lot (70 in 213 plate appearances) and has only eight walks, but the 30-year-old is earning $1.75 million (with another $250,000 in potential performance bonuses based on plate appearances), making him an affordable trade candidate for clubs seeking middle-infield help.

Carlos Estévez , RHP, Angels

Estévez had a few rocky outings in late April/early May, but the Angels' closer has rebounded nicely, cashing in each of his last four save opportunities while posting a 1.08 ERA in eight appearances dating back to May 15. The 31-year-old has struck out 19 and walked only three batters – two of them intentionally – in 20 innings this season. Estévez is earning $6.75 million in 2024, his final season before becoming a free agent.

Kyle Finnegan , RHP, Nationals

After an early-season hiccup, Finnegan has been one of the best closers in the game, rattling off 17 saves in 18 opportunities dating back to April 3. Finnegan has allowed two earned runs over his past 24 1/3 innings (0.74 ERA), holding opposing hitters to a .124/.209/.198 slash line. The right-hander is earning $5.1 million this season and is arbitration-eligible for one more year before becoming a free agent at the end of the 2025 season.

Cal Quantrill , RHP, Rockies

Quantrill’s first month with Colorado was uneven (0-3, 5.34 ERA), but the 29-year-old has turned things around since the beginning of May. The right-hander is 5-1 with a 2.20 ERA in seven starts since May 3, averaging nearly six innings per outing during that stretch. Quantrill is earning $6.55 million in 2024 and will be arbitration-eligible for the final time after the season, making him controllable through the end of 2025.

Tanner Scott , LHP, Marlins

Since suffering a blown save and a loss against the Braves on April 14, Scott has been dominant while closing for the last-place Marlins. The lefty has not allowed an earned run over his last 18 appearances, going 6-for-6 in save opportunities with a 1.00 WHIP and a .444 opponents OPS. Scott is earning $5.7 million in 2024 and will be a free agent at the end of the season, making him one of the better rental relievers available this summer.

Welcome To Wrexham, series three review: Major event ignored, sponsors indulged – but still punchy

Considering self-confessed sports nut Rob McElhenney hails from the U.S. city of Philadelphia, perhaps the Rocky analogy that opens the Welcome To Wrexham series three finale should come as no surprise.

“So, (in) Rocky I, he loses,” McElhenney says to his club co-chairman and fellow Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds. “Rocky II, he wins. So, season one, we lost. Setting up for season two, where we won. Now, here we are in season three.”

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“Is this where we fight Hulk Hogan?” asks Reynolds, warming to the theme and recalling a plotline from the third Rocky movie.

“Well, yes,” comes the reply. “It’s where we open by wrestling Hulk Hogan… and then eventually we fight Mr T.”

As McElhenney speaks, the screen cuts to, first, footage of Wrexham being thrashed at home by Milton Keynes Dons on the opening day of the 2023-24 season last August and then to a shot of Stockport County, whose final-day visit to the Racecourse Ground had looked like a potential title decider from the moment the fixtures were published.

Leaving aside how the League Two campaign was denied its Rocky Balboa vs Mr T-style showdown finale due to the promotion race being decided long before that April 27 meeting with champions Stockport , the comparison stands between Philadelphia’s favourite fictional son and Wrexham’s own pursuit of genuine glory.

As painful as losing in the 2021-22 National League play-offs was for the north Wales club at the time, it did them a big favour in the long run by ensuring viewers tuned in for the sequel, hoping for a happy ending —just as cinema audiences did after Sylvester Stallone’s character was defeated by Apollo Creed in the original 1976 film.

With a fourth series of the show charting Wrexham’s rise already commissioned, maybe the Rocky saga can also serve as a useful tool to help Wrexham avoid the pitfalls facing any long-running film or television franchise.

Full disclosure here: I write this as such an avowed fan of the ‘Italian Stallion’ that I once made a pilgrimage to the (by-then-boarded-up) pet shop in north Philadelphia where the boxer’s fiancee and eventual wife Adrian worked and the building opposite that was the location of Mighty Mick’s Gym.

But even I’ll admit that Rocky V in 1990 was a total turkey and 2006’s Rocky Balboa was not much better. Only with spin-off film Creed in 2015 did the series return to form.

Will the same fate befall Welcome To Wrexham? Let’s hope not, as the third series — the final episode ‘Down to the Wire’ was released on Thursday in the U.S. and is out today (Friday) in the UK — again delivered so many of the key elements that made the show a success in the first place.

There’s plenty of humour, especially from executive director Humphrey Ker in his role as the main narrator. Plenty of emotion, too, to go with the staple football action as Wrexham chase back-to-back promotions for the first time .

A need to evolve is also apparent, hence the shift in broadcasting time from autumn to spring and the format switching to eight hour-long episodes rather than the previous setup of twice as many shorter ones.

These changes give series three a more immediate feel and a better sense of cohesion, as a wide array of storylines are allowed time to breathe. This is particularly the case with the Wrexham women’s team, who in series two were confined to a couple of standalone episodes . Now, by becoming part of the entire season’s narrative, the men and women feel part of the same club rather than two separate entities as before.

Another welcome development is the increase in dressing-room footage, as these peeks behind the curtain offer a rawness sports fans don’t usually get. Never is this more apparent than when manager Phil Parkinson drops the C-bomb during a pre-match team talk to describe opponents Accrington Stanley’s antics earlier in the season. Even allowing for his liberal use of “f**k” in the past, it jolts the viewer.

Then there are the unguarded comments captured on the touchline. “F**king idiot,” mutters Parkinson when the hugely experienced James McClean picks up a two-game suspension at a critical juncture of the season following a 10th booking . Ollie Palmer ’s ears may also have pricked up watching the show, the striker’s spurned chance away against Doncaster Rovers prompting assistant manager Steve Parkin to declare to nobody in particular: “He’s got to f***king score!”

As with the revealing dressing-room footage, the production crew on the ground in Wrexham deserve huge credit, as clearly a sense of trust has built up for those on-screen to behave as naturally as they do.

The same goes for how the players feel safe to open up emotionally on camera. James Jones is the latest, revealing the family trauma that followed his wife Chloe having to undergo an emergency Caesarian when delivering the couple’s son, Jude, in November 2022.

The footage of Parkinson substituting the midfielder during a win against Aldershot with the words, “JJ, your old man is waiting outside. Your missus has not been well, so go straight down there now” took the viewer right to the heart of a truly harrowing tale.

As did the subsequent revelation that the new arrival had just a 40 per cent chance of survival, having been born at 25 weeks. When both Jude and Chloe, who suffered a seizure following the birth, were in intensive care, Jones admits to fearing, “One or both might not make it.”

Cutting from that straight to Jude’s first birthday with his smiling parents was Welcome To Wrexham at its very best. Likewise, the heart-warming story of Arthur Massey, at 100 years young the club’s oldest supporter.

“No joy lasts forever and no pain lasts forever,” was his verdict when asked about the highs and lows of following Wrexham, something those who rush to vent their fury at the team’s latest individual defeat without assessing the bigger picture might wish to contemplate.

Less palatable was the show’s failure to mention the collapse of Luke Armstrong’s move from Harrogate Town late in the summer transfer window. Part of the show’s appeal has been its ‘warts and all’ feel.

Take that away — as you surely do by ignoring something as huge as a club-record transfer collapsing at the 11th hour — and, suddenly, we’re stepping into the territory of the yawn-inducing All Or Nothing series on Amazon that can feel like little more than glossy commercials for Manchester City , Tottenham Hotspur et al.

Another misstep was the shoe-horning of club sponsors into the show.

A couple, you can maybe get away with. Especially if there’s an element of humour, such as when McElhenney missed Palmer’s 47th-minute equaliser at home to Stockport because he was still chatting with a sponsor inside the directors’ lounge. But the vast majority added nothing to the story at all, serving only to blur the already thin line that sports documentaries must carefully tread between entertainment and advertisement.

These are things, hopefully, the producers can address as thoughts turn to the fourth instalment of a franchise that, those gripes aside, still carries a punch worthy of Rocky himself.

McElhenney still hoping to convince Bale to join Wrexham

(Top photo: Rob McElhenney with Prince William last season; by Chris Jackson/AFP via Getty Images)

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