Eleven years after Origin made a triumphant return to Melbourne's sporting colosseum with a then-record of 91,513, rugby league's showpiece again stamped its mark in Victoria on Wednesday night.
It continues a stunning turnaround for Origin in Melbourne, the storied rivalry first played at the MCG back in 1994 in front of a bumper crowd of 87,161.
But those numbers fell dramatically three years later with a paltry figure of 25,105 watching NSW win game two of the 1997 series at the biggest stadium in Australia.
Origin didn't return to Melbourne for another nine years before sold-out games were played at the 56,000-seat capacity Docklands venue (now Marvel Stadium) in 2006, 2009 and 2012.
This record night will give Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V'landys more ammunition in his ongoing war of words with the AFL to be the biggest code of football in the country.
The Origin crowd almost beat the biggest AFL figure so far this year, 92,231 people attending the Anzac Day classic between Collingwood and Essendon at the MCG.
Crowds moved into their seats just before the start of the Blues-Maroons battle, streaming in from pubs in Richmond and the CBD.
Even with only 30 minutes until kick-off, the MCG was barely half-full.
But the atmosphere suddenly lifted when John Denver's classic Take Me Home, Country Roads and Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond got belted out.
There was no hint of neutrality - Victorians almost always prefer Queensland over NSW - when Blues star Nathan Cleary received a chorus of boos when his name was read out pre-game.
The "Queenslander" chant also got a mighty run during the Maroons' second-half avalanche.
Having the majority of support helped Queensland lift a 31-year hoodoo, beating NSW at the MCG for the first time since 1995 when Paul Vautin coached the Maroons to a stunning 3-0 series win.
Origin will again go on the road next year when Auckland's famous Eden Park hosts game two in the first NSW-Queensland match in New Zealand.
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