Wednesday's State of Origin decider played out in front of 52,000 fans at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, and more than two million viewers across Australia.
But they weren't the only ones watching Queensland clinch the series over New South Wales, with a dominant 22-6 victory.
While kickoff was at 8pm in Brisbane, it was 6am in New York City. On an otherwise empty street in midtown Manhattan, an Australian pub - named The Australian - was at capacity.
Like many similar-themed venues around the world, it was filled with Australian expats and tourists. But, also in tow with their breakfast and beers, were some Americans.
An American's perspective
"What's not to love?" third-generation New Yorker, Sean-Patrick Hillman told SBS World News.
"It's something different, it's something unique, it brings a global perspective on how sports really brings people together."
"We've been doing Origin for nine years now," said the pub's general manager Adam Williams.
New Yorker Sean-Patrick Hillman (far right) believes Australian sports can appeal to a greater US audience. (SBS World News/Omar Dabbagh) Source: SBS World News/Omar Dabbagh
"At the start it was pretty foreign to a lot of Americans, but now a lot of people know about us and every year it gets bigger and bigger. We book out normally a week in advance, and most of the time we hit capacity which is about 300-400 people."
Lochlan Birch, 28, is travelling across the US with his three friends from the NSW Riverina region. The quartet woke up at the crack of dawn to ensure they did not miss Origin.
"It's an Origin decider, you can't miss it. Cures the homesickness coming in to watch," he said.
"I'm very biased, but I think it's a lot tougher than American football, there's no padding or anything. You get the Yankees on board and it could go pretty big."
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Aside from Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands, Rugby League is also popular in parts of the United Kingdom and Europe.
The game has long tried to attract American audiences. In 1987, an exhibition State of Origin match was played in California.
Today, the US has its own league and national team. But the sport remains very niche.
Dr Rohan Miller from the University of Sydney School of Business told SBS it would likely stay that way for a long time yet.
"Australian sports have found it exceptionally hard breaking into international markets," Dr Miller said.
"The AFL has been playing exhibition matches, some even funded by the players themselves, since the 1960s. They have attempted to enter Canada, the UK and the US amongst other markets."
AFL abroad
AFL fan Joshua Attwood is also visiting the US on holiday. He said he had witnessed non-Australian themed pubs airing the AFL during his travels.
"There was a game between Hawthorn and GWS going on in a bar in San Francisco," the 22-year-old said.
"It was a bit of a shock, just walking into a bar off the streets after a baseball game, and you just see AFL going on. It was pretty good, I didn't expect it. I loved it.
"Once patrons knew we were all Aussie they started coming over asking questions about the rules and all that. So it sparked a bit of interest."
In May, Port Adelaide Power and Gold Coast Suns played the first AFL game in China. The sellout in Shanghai offered some hope the lucrative Asian market could also be tapped into.
Money to be made?
Clubs like Port Adelaide believe there is money to be made through such initiatives, but Dr Miller said it would be a tough task to do so.
"It is extremely doubtful that Australian sport has received any financial benefit from Australian sports initiatives to become exporters. Rather, the financial benefits are more likely to flow so the organisations who have broadcast rights," he said.
"For example, Fox sports estimates that there are as many as 800,000 AFL fans outside Australia. Australians love to congregate to watch sport together."
And, as broadcast deals are increasingly being reached with overseas networks, Dr Miller believes there is some hope to at least further chip into markets such as the US.
"Sport is to some degree a cultural activity, so it takes time and well executed strategy to enter into new markets," he said.
Australian sports remain niche in countries like the US, and business experts believe that won't change without a "well executed strategy". (SBS World News/Omar Dabbagh) Source: SBS World News/Omar Dabbagh
"Really, all you need is a football to start something happening. However to become more than a casual pursuit, a great deal needs to happen beneath the surface."
Mr Hillman hoped fellow Americans would spend more time learning about international sports, particularly Australian ones.
"You look at Aussie Rules football, you look at cricket, you look at how baseball is played in certain countries, Americans just don't understand that because they don't spend enough time looking at it," he said.
"My father was attempted to be drafted by the Cosmos in the 1970s when soccer was a joke in this country. And just now, 40 to almost 50 years later, you have soccer starting to really, really, grow. There's no reason why sports from other countries can't grow in the United States."
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