Directed by: John G. Avildsen
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Burt Young, Burgess Meredith, Carl Weathers, Talia Shire
A down and out boxer is given a chance to fight the Heavyweight Champion of the World as a novelty fight. The only person taking the fight seriously is Rocky. He trains day and night, inspired by his girlfriend Adrian,and goes the distance with Apollo Creed, before losing on points.
Visible crew/equipment: During the final fight, a steady cam operator with a white shirt and black straps around his body is seen during several wide angles. This is not a TV camera, it is a film crewmember. The Director even admits to it in the audio commentary on the DVD.
Trivia: During the scene before the fight, where Rocky enters the ring and sees the 2 portraits of him and Apollo, the error on Rocky's shorts was an actual error made by the art crew, and Sylvester Stallone rewrote the scene when he saw this mistake.
Answer: They mean the entire year, 1976, is America's birth "day," being the bicentennial of the Declaration of Independence. So the fight, taking place on January 1, is the "first sporting event on our two hundredth birthday."