![Cameron Smith of the Maroons celebrates with the trophy after game three of the 2016 State Of Origin in Sydney.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170628180308im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/q/5/8/o/v/image.related.articleLeadNarrow.300x0.gwbkwg.png/1495540353982.jpg)
As a sports nut, and a one eyed Queenslander at that, I have to say that the State of Origin cult has gone too far.
The forthcoming Maroon Festival, running from Sunday to Wednesday, is proof that some have lost all perspective.
This self-indulgent, four day orgy of footy festivities at South Bank should make every sensible Queenslander shudder with embarrassment. Without any sense of irony, the organisers promise that it will "celebrate our history, our community and our lifestyle with four action-packed days of free activities and entertainment for the whole family."
Really? For goodness sake, it's just a bloody game!
Make no mistake, I love Queensland flogging New South Wales as much as anyone else, but this over-hyped celebration of mindlessness should not be a matter of pride, but one of embarrassment. The very idea of a Maroon Festival is truly cringeworthy.
There are parades, rugby league quizzes, panel discussions, and even a locker room museum. The only way the hyperbole could go further would be to make this a state religion, and appoint a high priest.
To add insult to injury is the amount of money being thrown at this nonsense. The festival website shows a long list of sponsors, headed by two casinos as well as the Queensland government.
I can think of a lot better ways to spend hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars.
Why not spend it recognising the brilliant work done by medical researchers in Queensland? The Children's Hospital Foundation, the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute and the Gallipoli Medical Research Foundation show that Queensland is leading the world in life-saving research. Surely we should be recognising them.
Sponsoring a four- day festival around a football match evinces a disappointing inability to distinguish between what we enjoy, and what defines us, or what we should hope to be. It is, in fact, a failure of moral and political leadership.
Why not, instead, put the money into scholarships to help kids from poor households get a better education, or help get our homeless off the streets? Why not sponsor Meals on Wheels to deliver dinners to the homebound?
I am sure that everyone who goes to the football next week would agree that these are better and more deserving causes for the taxpayers' and sponsors' dollars, and a better reflection of who we are as Queenslanders.
Queenslanders are more than just football fans. We are resourceful, imaginative, decent and generous people. It is a shame the people who pull the corporate and political strings in this state understand us so little.