They do eat to ticks, but they're resistant to Lyme disease, not rabies. It's not that opossum hunt ticks or anything, they're just real good at grooming, and as ticks are real good at sticking to furry critters, opossum naturally end up fighting both ticks numbers and Lyme disease incidents.
I don't care if they eat ticks or have 3 vaginas, I just think possums are cool because they are just so goofy animals. Especially tiny possums clinging to mama possum as she carries them around. Or how they feign death when under attack. Or how they'll drop the sickest hiss at you whenever you see them.
I love possums but they, like rats (also such amazing creatures) like to move into your walls, eaves, and attics and poop and have babies. I hate and love them. Always cool to see one in the yard. America's only marsupial, right?
When I was a kid, I had a series of rodents, including rats. I always thought it was really cool how my rats, when walking along a tenuous surface, would wrap (or attempt to wrap) their tails around the object (usually my arm) to provide themselves security from falling.
I don't know if possums do the same, I've never encountered one, but your "amazing creatures" interjection reminded me of that.