The State of Origin

Instead of watching fireworks, eating hot dogs, and getting drunk on the 4th of July, Aussies get drunk and watch the "State of Origin", which is, as far as I can tell, akin to the Superbowl, at least for the two states of Queensland and New South Wales. 

http://www.nrl.com/RepGames/StateofOrigin2012/tabid/11131/Default.aspx

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_of_Origin

For those who don't know, there are actually FOUR kinds of "footy" in Australia, and I haven't figured out how to tell which one someone is talking about when they say the word "footy" yet.  Oh, and American Football (here called "Gridiron") is NOT one of the four...

There are two kinds of Rugby:  Rugby Union and Rugby League.  Rugby Union is what Americans are thinking when they think of Rugby, and as I understand it is the upper class version, considered more boring by the masses, played mostly by snobby private school kids.  Rugby League is kind of a mix of Gridiron and Rugby Union, as they have downs and a lot more movement, and is the "public school" game.  Both Rugby League and Rugby Union are primarily enjoyed by the two Eastern States previously mentioned, NSW and QLD.  The State of Origin is a Rugby League game, but it is a thrice a year event that pulls the best players from all of the assorted teams to play for thier home state (or... "state of origin"). 

The other two kinds of footy are Australian Rules Football (AFL) which is very different, and is a lot more like soccer than rugby, albeit with a lot more contact.  I find it more boring than either kind of rugby, and it is evidentally mostly popular in the "south", meaning Melbourne and Adelaide (states of Victoria and South Australia).  The fourth type is soccer, which, amazingly, is also called soccer here.

Don't even get me started on cricket...