One of the earliest memories I have is watching State of Origin football. I remember watching a young Mal Meninga plough through the New South Wales defence with those thunderous runs and punishing palm offs.
I remember the speed of Kerry Boustead moving like a blur across the screen, the never give in attitude of Paul Vautin despite the punishment he took and of course the King himself leading the Maroons to another victory.
As a three year old living in a small town south of Wagga Wagga – this hurt. I was too young to fully understand why my father would yell at the screen in despair. But I understood that I wanted the team in blue to win.
It was one of the first things my old man taught me. I remember feeling confused, anxious but also angry. So I showed this emotion the only way that a three year old knew how. I cried. I cried because New South Wales didn’t seem to know how to smash Wally Lewis, I cried because we could never seem to catch Boustead, and I cried because we lost.
Actually, I cried because we always lost.
History tells us that things turned around the next year in 1985 when another Wagga lad, Steve Mortimer, led New South Wales to our first series win.
The New South Wales side went on to win the next year as well with the first ever series white wash. But then the next year, the black clouds returned. By this stage I was able to understand why dad yelled at the TV. But I still couldn’t understand why the Blues couldn’t smash King Wally.
The Maroons won their own series sweep in 1988, and then followed it up with another the next year for good measure. I didn’t cry this time, but I remember being so angry my mother had to sit me down days after the third game to explain to me that it was just a game of football.
My hatred of the men who wear a strange, dark shade of purple has not waned throughout the years. In fact I embrace it. If I had a sporting wish, it would be to walk out onto Suncorp Stadium wearing my New South Wales jersey with pride.
I would be about to play in the deciding game of the series and have the capacity crowd throw all the vile and filthy language they could at me. I would be able to look my teammate in the eye and know that we were not only playing against the Queensland players, but the 50,000-plus rabid fans in the stands.
It might sound funny, but it’s an experience only the privileged few will experience. And when you listen to them describe what it’s like to be in that position, you can’t help but feel the fire in the belly.
It just so happens that this is what awaits the current New South Wales team. But this is not just another game of footy (sorry mum). This is about survival. Never before has a game meant so much.
To the conquering Maroons, this game could give them an unprecedented seven straight series victories. Almost a decade of dominance.
For the Blues, it could be a breakthrough. It would mean more than the victory in ’85 by Mortimer’s men. As a kid, I only had to wait a few years to experience a victory for my home state.
Currently, there are kids and teenagers who have gone through their entire primary or high schooling without that experience. It’s a tragedy.
If the Blues win, it will be a victory for the ages. Not because they won one of the closest and toughest series on record. But because they actually won. The ‘haters’ will be out in force saying they only won because Lockyer wasn’t playing or that Billy the Kid was injured.
Let them say what they want; it won’t turn the “W” into another “L”. But if we don’t win, the question has to be asked “If we can’t beat a Locky and Billy-less team, how will we ever win?” I sincerely hope I am not asking that question come Thursday morning. I’d rather see the smile on a seven-year-olds face after they experience what it’s like to finally see their state win State of Origin.
Then hopefully a new generation of Blues fans will truly understand why State of Origin is so special.
Go the Blues!
Reckon you can pick the winning team? Build your own dream team with Draftstars daily fantasy and compete on any match. For great odds on the NRL head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.
New coach Michael Maguire is considering as many as 50 players for the State of Origin series opener with not even captain James Tedesco…
Queensland often has the right mix of generational talent, playmaking brilliance and these nuts-and-bolts players that bind them together like glue.
Despite a poor season by his own high standards, Latrell Mitchell is still a chance to force his way into the NSW team for…
Michael Maguire is saying all the right things about how he wants to guide NSW back to State of Origin supremacy but the inescapable…
Wayde Egan's rise to star hooker status at the Warriors should earn him a place in conversation to play at No.9 for NSW in…
Hilton Cartwright and Joel Paris have powered Western Australia to a five-wicket win over NSW in the one-day cup final, securing a historic third…
