Wanting to get immersive before Wednesday’s State of Origin decider in Brisbane? Then, listen to the chorus of Livin’ On The Edge, the song by American hard rock band Aerosmith. It works in three ways.
First, the atmosphere at Suncorp Stadium for the players is akin to a giant nightclub with its pumping music and mesmerising, vibrant lighting.
Chris Johns, who played in the first decider NSW won in Brisbane in 1994, says, “The best thing I can compare running out onto Lang Park [Suncorp] is to walking into a nightclub. The music reverberates off you. You can feel it on your skin. It’s as if the sound of the massive Queensland crowd is like a beat that bounces off your chest. You don’t just hear it in your ears. It vibrates through you. It’s as if the lights are blinding as well.”
Great athletes embrace the pulsating, hypnotic atmosphere. Lesser ones find it confronting and fail.
Second, the title Livin’ On The Edge picks up on the almost Jesuitical distinction between physical intimidation (“good” agree the Blues and Maroons) and brutal contact (“bad and not us” say both camps). They have been exchanging barbs about it since the Blues’ illegal tackle on fullback Reece........