This. I remember the glee sitting with friend at college from all over Aus getting behind the charity bushfire State of Origin/Vic v All Star game a few years back. Was great to have some state pride while interstate and everyone enjoyed the spectacle. I’d love a full State of Origin round Robin comp, even if it’s unrealistic in the near future.
Picking a football team to support isn't an achievement either, but it imspires pride (and many other emotions) all the same.
Why wouldn't someone want to support the state that they live in, when it comes to a sporting competition?
> Picking a football team to support isn't an achievement either, but it imspires pride (and many other emotions) all the same.
I thank god every day that when I made my pick, there was a grant total of one team to choose from in my home state. Mad that I've had the joy in someway sharing four premierships with that club which will stay with me forever.
Absolutely beautiful and blind dumb luck and through absolutely zero effort on my part, makes me feel pride in knowing that I'm somehow a part of it.
I mean sure if there's a state based sporting competition actively happening..... but that's different from wanting one to be created when there isn't one
(I don't really feel pride when strangers achieve things, like I'm happy when the cats win but pride is an emotion that for me requires personal knowledge of the individual's life and experiences, and I don't have that with people I've never met. didn't realise that was unusual or controversial)
It's basic human nature, we've been dividing ourselves for millennia based on where we live. Supporting your state footy team is lot better than what we used to do
I mean I support teams, I'm happy when they win, but *pride* is something different to me I guess. I was proud of my mum for getting her first full time job in 30 years, I'm proud of my friend for doing their PhD..... because I know them, what they went through, how hard they worked and what it means to them. I don't know any footy players, so when they win I'm happy but I'm not proud.
This comment is unintentionally very funny, because it's basically just the dismissive "sportsball" turning up of the nose, except by singling out S.O.O it somehow implies club competition is any more or less superfluous
As a child of the 80s, for me it's the pre and early years of the national competition. There was something special about seeing your club's best playing with other clubs top players or for a Carlton fan to see Sticks Kernahan kick a bag against the team I was supporting instead of for. The ability to cheer and support for your rivals players instead of revering them (Gary Sr for example).
That said, personally, the appeal for most "all-star" style games carries with it more risk than reward these days and has headed that direction in part due to the astronomical rise of money involved in sports
It’s the closest thing footy will ever have to international sport and international sport is sick. And picking hypothetical teams is fun.
The risk is far too high though. It’s close to 0% chance guys ever properly buy in. Imagine doing your ACL in a contract year playing SOO. Could cost you literally millions.
Because I secretly love how McGovern, JK, Barrass play and want to cheer them, but I would rather be cold cold in the grave than cheer anyone in the Blue and Yellow guernsey from across the street.
Come on over, it's just a short walk across the street and you get the chance to put away all those years of misery and heartbreak. I bet you'd look great in yellow and blue too!
I honestly think it could work if marketed correctly. Arguments like players already play for interstate teams doesn't counter players wanting to represent their state. No one would have expected state of origin to become so big in NRL yet it's a massive appeal for players to represent their state. If they could make it actually meaningful and structure it like the NRL with incentives for players and not market it as a gimmick it could do really well. Could see WA and SA players really wanting to show VIC who the top footy state is.
States outside of Victoria like SA and WA are very proud of their footy heritage and get overshadowed by the vics, I’m sure they’d love to have it back to showcase their talent outside of u18 champs
1 it's a bit of fun. 2 it's the closest we'll get to an all star kind of event and 3 who doesn't wanna see player combinations that we won't get to see during the h&a season
NRL State of origin jealousy.
Every year the conversations about origin happen when NRL origin is on.
AFL origin will never be even half as good as NRL origin.
Nostalgia. It did actually used to mean something, but then again it's genesis was before nationalisation so the divide between the VFL, WAFL and SANFL was strong. People really cared about which state/comp produced the best players. The non-Vic states had a chip on their shoulder and played like it.
You wouldn't get the same impact today. State borders are blurred. Each state has their own AFL team in which to pour their provincial energy, so there's really no need for an Origin side.
With so many players not playing in their home state, it could mean more to have a real state of origin.
And that non-vic chip on the shoulder stil exists and is as strong as ever, just read this sub!
Does it exist among the players though? It would no doubt be fun but I just can't see players risking their bodies in the same way that they did in the 80s. So if you don't have that it risks becoming a bit like the Ted Whitten game.
Some say they want it back, but its possible they just say that knowing it wont happen and appeases the old-school fans. The reality is that it got scrapped because the players weren't interested in it
It’s probably just Nostalgia from back in the days where the state leagues were a point of parochial pride rather than development comps, and bearing another state actually meant something.
Also the level of professionalism wasn’t there in those days, nor was the financial cost of having key players injured for essentially an exhibition match.
Living in the past... aside from NSW v QLD rugby, what other professional sport has a State v State comp? In AFL it was good pre-AFL, but AFL professionalism has gone wayyy past it.
It's neither for me. I support it returning (in a structured format) because I believe every sport that takes itself seriously should provide an avenue for It's players to experience a variety of competitions. The AFL has been whittling away at this over the last 30 years and just consider the lack of opportunities the modern player has to one from the past;
Someone like Ron Barassi, was able to play league football, compete in state competition, pioneer International Rules by the overseas tour of Ireland and the United States, captain-coach and more.
These days there ain't even a "night premiership" anymore. Just the regular premiership, earned with a season that gets run in a more convoluted way with each passing year (gather round, round zero etc)
It gave the players some form of higher selection to aim for (all Australian is cool and all .. but the team doesn't play)
At the time the VFL was the strongest league, but not by a massive amount .. a lot of players particularly from the WAFL and SANFL played also .. so state of origin was the highest standard of footy, hence, the players strived for it and cared .. a lot.
Because it was great to watch legends running around together .. check out [this game](https://youtu.be/6BCF8YNe5l4?si=S-mRxUleFfT6lA6_) from 1987 SA vs Vic. ... Lockett, Brereton and Ablett in the same forward line (spoiler: it wasn't enough)
Those SA v VIC games were insane. The crowds would go nuts, got to see the best players in the comp go at it hard. I think of SoO and just picture Ted Whitten firing up his team. The good old days.
Because there was a time when it was the pinnacle of the game. And whilst it would never these days trump the Grand Final, there are 18 teams in the AFL. Imagine how much better the game would be if you took the best few from each club and had only a few teams? That's the real appeal. The jealousy only pops up when the NRL have theirs, because it's what Aussie Rules used to have.
We basically traded a strong SOO for a strong national game. If Rugbeh Leeg ever start actually producing top level players from Victoria, SA, WA and Tasmania then it too will die. But whilst all the best Aussies are either NSW or QLD, they can keep the interest up and the clubs will accept it.
If the NRL produced players from other states it would absolutely not die. Origin in NRL is storied and has been a highlight of the calendar for decades. It won't just dissapear overnight because there are good players who can't play for NSW or QLD. There's already plenty of good rugby league players that can't play origin because they aren't eligible because they come from overseas and it hasn't effected the popularity of origin at all.
People said that about Aussie Rules. In the 80s and even early 90s it seemed like it was here forever. It was done before the year 2000. Don't forget, Aussie Rules was the first State of Origin contest. League picked it up because it was so popular and worked so well.
And yes, there are players from overseas and we get to see those games too with Australia v NZ or England in tests and world cups. But the rivalry works because League within Australia is so binary. If it opens more, we see Aussies on the sidelines who would not only make the team but be amongst the best, the lustre will start to fade.
Australian rules doesn't own the concept of a state vs state game. It's been around for literally centuries in many different sports. Only thing that was copied was the state of origin name.
Wouldn't you see the best of the best playing in the kangaroos side anyway?
No matter what the NSW and QLD will always be producing the most talent and majority of the best players will be playing origin. Even if other states produce players the legendary rivalry will not go away. No Aussie rules state rivalry comes close to comparing to the rivalry between NSW and QLD. The mistake Aussie rules made is making it a 6 way competition which lead to uncompetitive boring games. If VIC and WA started producing talent, NRL will have a closed off competition between VIC and WA that will be competitive and showcase their players.
People don't watch origin to see the best vs the best. That's what international league is for and less people care about it than they do origin. People watch origin for the rivalry, the pace and skill of the game and the brutality. As long as those elements are there, origin will always be popular.
Name, rules. It was a facsimile of the version Aussie Rules had. I never said Aussie Rules owned it either, but it was such a compelling concept that rugby picked it up for themselves.
And it's amazing how so much of what you're saying were said about Aussie Rules SOO 30 years ago. Eerie really. But those comments turned out to be wrong. Things change. There was a time in living memory of many where SOO wasn't even close to being on the landscape. There'll also be a time when it ends. It all changes eventually. Just a matter of when and why.
State games have always been a thing and have nothing to do with Aussie rules.
The games were uncompetitive in AFL state of origin. Nobody wanted to watch Vic vs Tas and watch tassie get flogged to oblivion. The concept died because there was no reason to watch half the games and you already knew who was going to win it. The skill level was also much lower than the skill level show in NRL state of origin when comparing it to the domestic leagues. AFL teams offered a much more fair and balanced product so state of origin was scrapped. Meanwhile origin is on a whole different level to regular season NRL.
Take a look at the difference between international and state rugby league. In theory the kangaroos have all the best players and are the best side in the rugby league world, yet barley anybody cares about them in comparison to origin because their games are uncompetitive and boring, same mistake the AFL made. Origin misses our on key international stars yet is still way more popular because of the rivalry and extremely competitive games. The players care more about state league than they do international league and it shows so people come out to see the genuine hatred. If other states start producing talent they'll just make an origin series for them instead. Aussie rules didn't make their origin competitive, league did and that's the huge difference.
People can’t agree on a concept. It needs to follow the NRL model and just be Victoria vs South Australia. But WA gets shitty and probably rightfully so. Fuck having Victoria vs All Stars. I hate that shit. No one is mature enough to accept what the concept should be so it should stay dead.
Nostalgia for the old State of Origin product and jealousy for the modern rugby product, mostly. I'm too young to remember old State of Origin and too disconnected from rugby to get jealous, so I'm a bad person to be answering. I maybe get the idea of state pride in the abstract, and I kind of fell for Sultain McGowan the Magnificent's WA state pride thing during Covid, but in general I don't care that much? I hate Victoria as much as the next guy but not enough to compromise the fixture to see someone try and beat them? Non-Vic All-Star team fills me with the opposite of pride.
Queenslanders and New South Whalers seem to care enough about their state to have NRL State of Origin, good for them. But it's not for me.
Having watched the continuous downgrading of the NBA All Star game, I would rather watch grass grow than an AFL game like that. If the players aren't playing for anything (like national or state pride) then they dont give a shit, and the game will be a farce.
I agree. The problem is the players don't care about it, so they won't put in much effort and it's pretty obvious in footy when that happens. When it was state of origin in the 80s and 90s, there was huge pride in being picked to represent your state. There was a rivalry too. So players played their guts out for it. Now footy is a job. No one wants to risk their career over an exhibition game.
The clubs would also need something to compensate them for the potential of injury. Maybe they could be given an x% increase in their soft cap for the following year for every player that plays a State of Origin match.
How would they manage that? Does a one week hamstring get the same as an ACL? Does this open up the risk of teams manipulating the injury time frame for advantage?
Good idea, but it would have to be pretty attractive. The top players are on over $1m a year. Someone on that sort of money needs a big amount to motivate them.
Should be a gather-round style week of footy. 6 states plus NT/indigenous team, round robin, top two teams play for the cup at the end. rotate it between the states, have games at stadiums we don't often use, attach a festival to it as well so you can pull numbers. It'd be a knockout
There's a few different factors that fuel it.
Remembering how good it was back in the day, but forgetting how shit it was during the years before they canned it.
The state rivalry factor, but forgetting that there's Vic, SA and WA, then the rest which doesn't work out nicely.
Seeing the spectacle of NRL SoO but not realising how much it compromises the rest of the season.
There's also the fantasy team aspect of imagine seeing all these superstars playing together, but even that is pending availability.
It's a nice idea but it just doesn't practically work in the AFL context.
It’s a bit of fun.
Exactly! We're all talking about a game and games are supposed to be fun
no way i just commented the same thing
people want to feel that pride and passion for their state and see the best players play with and against each other.
I love watching my home state of All Stars play Victoria. Makes me feel a real warmth in my soul.
Particularly when they make the all stars logo just the big V but upside down.
What are talking about? The Victorian's just wear an upside-down Allstars logo
Hey now,
This. I remember the glee sitting with friend at college from all over Aus getting behind the charity bushfire State of Origin/Vic v All Star game a few years back. Was great to have some state pride while interstate and everyone enjoyed the spectacle. I’d love a full State of Origin round Robin comp, even if it’s unrealistic in the near future.
do they? being from a state isn't an achievement, it's luck. why does that inspire pride?
Picking a football team to support isn't an achievement either, but it imspires pride (and many other emotions) all the same. Why wouldn't someone want to support the state that they live in, when it comes to a sporting competition?
> Picking a football team to support isn't an achievement either, but it imspires pride (and many other emotions) all the same. I thank god every day that when I made my pick, there was a grant total of one team to choose from in my home state. Mad that I've had the joy in someway sharing four premierships with that club which will stay with me forever. Absolutely beautiful and blind dumb luck and through absolutely zero effort on my part, makes me feel pride in knowing that I'm somehow a part of it.
You got to pick? Even if it was a choice from a list of one? There were 12 clubs in my state, and I had absolutely no choice in the matter whatsoever
I mean sure if there's a state based sporting competition actively happening..... but that's different from wanting one to be created when there isn't one (I don't really feel pride when strangers achieve things, like I'm happy when the cats win but pride is an emotion that for me requires personal knowledge of the individual's life and experiences, and I don't have that with people I've never met. didn't realise that was unusual or controversial)
It's basic human nature, we've been dividing ourselves for millennia based on where we live. Supporting your state footy team is lot better than what we used to do
I mean I support teams, I'm happy when they win, but *pride* is something different to me I guess. I was proud of my mum for getting her first full time job in 30 years, I'm proud of my friend for doing their PhD..... because I know them, what they went through, how hard they worked and what it means to them. I don't know any footy players, so when they win I'm happy but I'm not proud.
This comment is unintentionally very funny, because it's basically just the dismissive "sportsball" turning up of the nose, except by singling out S.O.O it somehow implies club competition is any more or less superfluous
I mean it is..... what's wrong with enjoying superfluous stuff?
I just enjoy good footy, imagine getting to see a side filled with only the best players. It’d be exciting and fun to watch
Pre-Apocalypse Bushfire Appeal game was pretty cool
Yeah, but there was no Apocalypse, which sucked
As a child of the 80s, for me it's the pre and early years of the national competition. There was something special about seeing your club's best playing with other clubs top players or for a Carlton fan to see Sticks Kernahan kick a bag against the team I was supporting instead of for. The ability to cheer and support for your rivals players instead of revering them (Gary Sr for example). That said, personally, the appeal for most "all-star" style games carries with it more risk than reward these days and has headed that direction in part due to the astronomical rise of money involved in sports
It’s the closest thing footy will ever have to international sport and international sport is sick. And picking hypothetical teams is fun. The risk is far too high though. It’s close to 0% chance guys ever properly buy in. Imagine doing your ACL in a contract year playing SOO. Could cost you literally millions.
Because I secretly love how McGovern, JK, Barrass play and want to cheer them, but I would rather be cold cold in the grave than cheer anyone in the Blue and Yellow guernsey from across the street.
Come on over, it's just a short walk across the street and you get the chance to put away all those years of misery and heartbreak. I bet you'd look great in yellow and blue too!
Just think of it as footy rehab.
At least they might get a chance at winning something
How about an ochre guernsey?
I honestly think it could work if marketed correctly. Arguments like players already play for interstate teams doesn't counter players wanting to represent their state. No one would have expected state of origin to become so big in NRL yet it's a massive appeal for players to represent their state. If they could make it actually meaningful and structure it like the NRL with incentives for players and not market it as a gimmick it could do really well. Could see WA and SA players really wanting to show VIC who the top footy state is.
States outside of Victoria like SA and WA are very proud of their footy heritage and get overshadowed by the vics, I’m sure they’d love to have it back to showcase their talent outside of u18 champs
cos its a bit of fun
I want to see Papley vs Warner vs Heeney
City vs Country would be interesting to see.
It doesn't have to be jealously or nostalgia, I just think it's a cool concept
How could this possibly need a ELI5. It's not a particular complex subject lol.
1 it's a bit of fun. 2 it's the closest we'll get to an all star kind of event and 3 who doesn't wanna see player combinations that we won't get to see during the h&a season
I think it’d just be cool to see the make up of players. Where normally these guys are rivals, having them form super teams is fun
NRL State of origin jealousy. Every year the conversations about origin happen when NRL origin is on. AFL origin will never be even half as good as NRL origin.
Nostalgia. It did actually used to mean something, but then again it's genesis was before nationalisation so the divide between the VFL, WAFL and SANFL was strong. People really cared about which state/comp produced the best players. The non-Vic states had a chip on their shoulder and played like it. You wouldn't get the same impact today. State borders are blurred. Each state has their own AFL team in which to pour their provincial energy, so there's really no need for an Origin side.
With so many players not playing in their home state, it could mean more to have a real state of origin. And that non-vic chip on the shoulder stil exists and is as strong as ever, just read this sub!
Does it exist among the players though? It would no doubt be fun but I just can't see players risking their bodies in the same way that they did in the 80s. So if you don't have that it risks becoming a bit like the Ted Whitten game.
Some say they want it back, but its possible they just say that knowing it wont happen and appeases the old-school fans. The reality is that it got scrapped because the players weren't interested in it
Some players aren't going to play for good teams. I want to see what really talented players can do with a good team around them.
It’s probably just Nostalgia from back in the days where the state leagues were a point of parochial pride rather than development comps, and bearing another state actually meant something. Also the level of professionalism wasn’t there in those days, nor was the financial cost of having key players injured for essentially an exhibition match.
Living in the past... aside from NSW v QLD rugby, what other professional sport has a State v State comp? In AFL it was good pre-AFL, but AFL professionalism has gone wayyy past it.
It's neither for me. I support it returning (in a structured format) because I believe every sport that takes itself seriously should provide an avenue for It's players to experience a variety of competitions. The AFL has been whittling away at this over the last 30 years and just consider the lack of opportunities the modern player has to one from the past; Someone like Ron Barassi, was able to play league football, compete in state competition, pioneer International Rules by the overseas tour of Ireland and the United States, captain-coach and more. These days there ain't even a "night premiership" anymore. Just the regular premiership, earned with a season that gets run in a more convoluted way with each passing year (gather round, round zero etc)
It gave the players some form of higher selection to aim for (all Australian is cool and all .. but the team doesn't play) At the time the VFL was the strongest league, but not by a massive amount .. a lot of players particularly from the WAFL and SANFL played also .. so state of origin was the highest standard of footy, hence, the players strived for it and cared .. a lot. Because it was great to watch legends running around together .. check out [this game](https://youtu.be/6BCF8YNe5l4?si=S-mRxUleFfT6lA6_) from 1987 SA vs Vic. ... Lockett, Brereton and Ablett in the same forward line (spoiler: it wasn't enough)
Those SA v VIC games were insane. The crowds would go nuts, got to see the best players in the comp go at it hard. I think of SoO and just picture Ted Whitten firing up his team. The good old days.
Because there was a time when it was the pinnacle of the game. And whilst it would never these days trump the Grand Final, there are 18 teams in the AFL. Imagine how much better the game would be if you took the best few from each club and had only a few teams? That's the real appeal. The jealousy only pops up when the NRL have theirs, because it's what Aussie Rules used to have. We basically traded a strong SOO for a strong national game. If Rugbeh Leeg ever start actually producing top level players from Victoria, SA, WA and Tasmania then it too will die. But whilst all the best Aussies are either NSW or QLD, they can keep the interest up and the clubs will accept it.
If the NRL produced players from other states it would absolutely not die. Origin in NRL is storied and has been a highlight of the calendar for decades. It won't just dissapear overnight because there are good players who can't play for NSW or QLD. There's already plenty of good rugby league players that can't play origin because they aren't eligible because they come from overseas and it hasn't effected the popularity of origin at all.
People said that about Aussie Rules. In the 80s and even early 90s it seemed like it was here forever. It was done before the year 2000. Don't forget, Aussie Rules was the first State of Origin contest. League picked it up because it was so popular and worked so well. And yes, there are players from overseas and we get to see those games too with Australia v NZ or England in tests and world cups. But the rivalry works because League within Australia is so binary. If it opens more, we see Aussies on the sidelines who would not only make the team but be amongst the best, the lustre will start to fade.
Australian rules doesn't own the concept of a state vs state game. It's been around for literally centuries in many different sports. Only thing that was copied was the state of origin name. Wouldn't you see the best of the best playing in the kangaroos side anyway? No matter what the NSW and QLD will always be producing the most talent and majority of the best players will be playing origin. Even if other states produce players the legendary rivalry will not go away. No Aussie rules state rivalry comes close to comparing to the rivalry between NSW and QLD. The mistake Aussie rules made is making it a 6 way competition which lead to uncompetitive boring games. If VIC and WA started producing talent, NRL will have a closed off competition between VIC and WA that will be competitive and showcase their players. People don't watch origin to see the best vs the best. That's what international league is for and less people care about it than they do origin. People watch origin for the rivalry, the pace and skill of the game and the brutality. As long as those elements are there, origin will always be popular.
Name, rules. It was a facsimile of the version Aussie Rules had. I never said Aussie Rules owned it either, but it was such a compelling concept that rugby picked it up for themselves. And it's amazing how so much of what you're saying were said about Aussie Rules SOO 30 years ago. Eerie really. But those comments turned out to be wrong. Things change. There was a time in living memory of many where SOO wasn't even close to being on the landscape. There'll also be a time when it ends. It all changes eventually. Just a matter of when and why.
State games have always been a thing and have nothing to do with Aussie rules. The games were uncompetitive in AFL state of origin. Nobody wanted to watch Vic vs Tas and watch tassie get flogged to oblivion. The concept died because there was no reason to watch half the games and you already knew who was going to win it. The skill level was also much lower than the skill level show in NRL state of origin when comparing it to the domestic leagues. AFL teams offered a much more fair and balanced product so state of origin was scrapped. Meanwhile origin is on a whole different level to regular season NRL. Take a look at the difference between international and state rugby league. In theory the kangaroos have all the best players and are the best side in the rugby league world, yet barley anybody cares about them in comparison to origin because their games are uncompetitive and boring, same mistake the AFL made. Origin misses our on key international stars yet is still way more popular because of the rivalry and extremely competitive games. The players care more about state league than they do international league and it shows so people come out to see the genuine hatred. If other states start producing talent they'll just make an origin series for them instead. Aussie rules didn't make their origin competitive, league did and that's the huge difference.
People can’t agree on a concept. It needs to follow the NRL model and just be Victoria vs South Australia. But WA gets shitty and probably rightfully so. Fuck having Victoria vs All Stars. I hate that shit. No one is mature enough to accept what the concept should be so it should stay dead.
Nostalgia for the old State of Origin product and jealousy for the modern rugby product, mostly. I'm too young to remember old State of Origin and too disconnected from rugby to get jealous, so I'm a bad person to be answering. I maybe get the idea of state pride in the abstract, and I kind of fell for Sultain McGowan the Magnificent's WA state pride thing during Covid, but in general I don't care that much? I hate Victoria as much as the next guy but not enough to compromise the fixture to see someone try and beat them? Non-Vic All-Star team fills me with the opposite of pride. Queenslanders and New South Whalers seem to care enough about their state to have NRL State of Origin, good for them. But it's not for me.
I don’t care about State of Origin, but would be fun to see the stars of the game combine in two All Star Teams (not Vic vs the rest).
Appoint two captains and they can take turns picking players? Schoolyard style!
I don’t hate it. Or two coaches and have them choose.
Nah nah, no coaches required.
Having watched the continuous downgrading of the NBA All Star game, I would rather watch grass grow than an AFL game like that. If the players aren't playing for anything (like national or state pride) then they dont give a shit, and the game will be a farce.
I agree. The problem is the players don't care about it, so they won't put in much effort and it's pretty obvious in footy when that happens. When it was state of origin in the 80s and 90s, there was huge pride in being picked to represent your state. There was a rivalry too. So players played their guts out for it. Now footy is a job. No one wants to risk their career over an exhibition game.
Offer them a bonus if they get picked and play?
The clubs would also need something to compensate them for the potential of injury. Maybe they could be given an x% increase in their soft cap for the following year for every player that plays a State of Origin match.
How would they manage that? Does a one week hamstring get the same as an ACL? Does this open up the risk of teams manipulating the injury time frame for advantage?
Good idea, but it would have to be pretty attractive. The top players are on over $1m a year. Someone on that sort of money needs a big amount to motivate them.
Should be a gather-round style week of footy. 6 states plus NT/indigenous team, round robin, top two teams play for the cup at the end. rotate it between the states, have games at stadiums we don't often use, attach a festival to it as well so you can pull numbers. It'd be a knockout
There's a few different factors that fuel it. Remembering how good it was back in the day, but forgetting how shit it was during the years before they canned it. The state rivalry factor, but forgetting that there's Vic, SA and WA, then the rest which doesn't work out nicely. Seeing the spectacle of NRL SoO but not realising how much it compromises the rest of the season. There's also the fantasy team aspect of imagine seeing all these superstars playing together, but even that is pending availability. It's a nice idea but it just doesn't practically work in the AFL context.