I still love it.
The history, the friendly but fierce rivalry, the buildup and ultimately, the battle of the blessed, and best out there on the field.
It's a privilege to witness a game of that quality, the almost superhuman efforts of 34 men in front of a huge, parochial, and passionate crowd.
The intensity of the battle, and the theatre of it all. It transcends far above and beyond a mere representative game of football.
Players could just as easily get seriously injured in a club game; and if you asked every single player out there last night , they would want to be there without hesitation.
It is an extraordinary phenomenon, this State of Origin.
But , if you feel you disagree, for whatever reasons, fair enough. You are perplexingly hard to please.
And I feel you're missing out on something uniquely Australian, and very, very special.