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Much has been written on the State of Origin series in 2014. Every man, woman and their varied pets have thrown in their two cents about the great contest.
Opinions are important, they form the mediated public sphere that is the sporting universe and drive interest and passion for sport. I love to write opinion pieces.
But all these pieces come from basically a few token story-lines, often on the same topic, contributing to the hype that surrounds many sporting events.
But Origin isn’t any sporting event. This is the sporting event.
Strip down the hysteria and uncompromising media hype that surrounds each game and you can begin to appreciate what a special cultural phenomenon we have. State of Origin is exceptional.
I know I am not alone when I say that, to a league fan, Origin time is the most wonderful time of the year. It brings out an unrelenting beast in those who follow it, a passion so true it infects your blood stream, your consciousness.
You think about it almost every second the weeks leading up to it, you see a Queensland license plate on a Sydney Motorway and you boo them from behind your steering wheel. You fantasise about Cameron Smith lying on the ground in despair and Darius Boyd with tears streaming down his face.
I’m a New South Welshman, in case you couldn’t tell.
But Origin transcends the passionate Queenslander or the die-hard New South Welshman, it becomes one of the highlights on the cultural calendar. People who wouldn’t give a second thought about the Titans versus Panthers on Saturday Night, turn on their TVs at 7:30pm on a Wednesday, huddled around with their family or friends.
The most important sporting events capture the casual, they grab the indifferent individual and yell, “you must watch me”.
It is just like the situation where people who do not usually follow or particularly care about football, such as myself, are now eagerly anticipating the World Cup.
State of Origin 1 on May 28th attracted a whopping 4.058 million viewers, it was the most-watched television event in 2014 and was one of the most-watched Origins ever. It broke records for Adelaide audience (4 per cent increase, 86 000), Victorian regional audience (10 per cent increase, 118 083) and a huge Perth audience increase (71 per cent 109 000).
Regardless of whether you have already seen these stats, they impressively demonstrate the importance and prevalence of Origin.
On social media, Origin was being talked about in 104 countries, hashtags related to the game trended globally and tweets about the game exceeded 100,000.
I hear the arguments, rugby league is a sport dominated by two states, New South Wales and Queensland. The AFL has a broader reach, with a following that covers a larger portion of the country.
But AFL, rugby union and the A-League all do not have an event that so well encapsulates the essence of its nature and epitomises for the masses, which is what makes any sport great.
State of Origin rarely disappoints, almost every game is a spectacle to behold, a superlative showcase of sport. Last Wednesday night, the 100th game since it’s inception, was a brutal and unbelievably tough clash, that displayed Origin grit at its most beautiful.
What’s perfect about State of Origin is hard to define. What is the element that creates the Origin magic. Is it the grit? The skill? The competition? The rivalry? Who knows.
But whatever it may be, State of Origin has an indistinguishable quality that has brought it to the apex of Australian sport and culture. If we continue to speculate about its downfalls and the inconveniences of it’s scheduling, and if anything eventuates, we risk interfering with what makes Origin special.
The thought of anything but the State of Origin spectacle we know today is unbearable. So let’s appreciate what we have now, the premier sporting event in the country.
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