For the entirety of this millennium, the Collingwood Football Club and Edward Joseph McGuire have been tighter than synonymous.
Across the many years of his career in front of the camera or behind a microphone, the man dubbed โEddie Everywhere' has never missed an opportunity to part with his two cents or pump up his beloved Pies.
Although his supremely public persona has often proven divisive, he became beloved by Collingwood faithful the world over, as he once again forced them to believe the previously tired โus against them' mantra had validity.
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Opinions about the perennially polarizing 56-year-old have naturally ranged across the axis of love and hate and have only intensified across the last fortnight.
Still, however you view him, there is one truth that has never been deniableโ McGuire's love of Collingwood is only likely to be surpassed by his love of family.
Now this reality will never excuse his myriad of faux pas, but it is worth recalling when his legacy is discussed.
It was his love of Collingwood above almost all that saw him run for club presidency in 1998 and it is almost certain that it is why tears welled in his eyes on Tuesday when his race had come to an end.
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Despite no longer claiming ownership of the Collingwood hot seat, people's entrenched views on McGuire are unlikely to change.
Some, most likely those with black and white hearts, will always see him as the man that dragged the Magpies kicking and screaming into the modern era. Others with a heightened empathy for their fellow members of society are unlikely to be as forgiving.
Wherever you sit on the spectrum, it is also worth remembering that 23 years in any job is bound to bring ups and downs, and with a job like that of Collingwood president, these peaks and troughs are always going to play out far more publicly than that of your postie.
There is no doubting that McGuire was aware of this when he first walked into Victoria Park, the real question is whether he has learnt how to embrace and grow from it or whether he will simply keep spinning it?
Now that McGuire's finish line has been altered and crossed, it is worth scanning his CV as Pies president in an effort to fully comprehend his impact.
Call it a tribute or call it a condemnation, these are the facts of Eddie McGuire's era in black and white.
The rapid rise
Following a torrid 1998 season that saw just seven wins for the once mighty Magpies, Eddie McGuire raised his hand.
Tired of irrelevance and 10 goal losses to Carlton, the โboy from Broady' with the burgeoning media profile became the Collingwood President at just 34.
Despite a firm understanding of the club's working-class history, McGuire's eyes were firmly set upon a future that lay away from their historical home of Victoria Park.
With his vision to move well beyond relevancy and to once again be seen as formidable, the Lulie Street venue was farewelled in Round 22 of the 1999 season, a day in which the Magpies claimed only their second wooden spoon.
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As rock bottom was his starting point, McGuire, now admittedly fuelled by fear, set about displacing another sporting group from their long-term lodgings โ Athletics Victoria.
It could be argued that the then Footy Show host and Athletics Australia board member acted duplicitously when he underhandedly convinced the state body to vacate their Olympic Park home, but should you own any black and white merchandise, you are unlikely to care.
With a new home, a new coach, new sponsors, a pair of Grand Final appearances and a latent membership base that had risen from a near decade long hibernation, McGuire had talked the talk and subsequently walked the walk.
The Magpies were back.
The loose lipped years
Despite the trough of the succession plan turmoil, the peak of the 2010 premiership had both Collingwood and McGuire riding high.
The common hatred of the Magpies had once again morphed into something that McGuire could hang his hat on โ fear.
There is an old adage that pride often precedes a fall, but in McGuire's case his plummet came from his distinct lack of filter.
Only Eddie knows whether his comments about Adam Goodes, Heretier Lumumba, Caroline Wilson and Cynthia Banham came from a place of malice, but irrespective of intent, wounds were created.
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As a repeat offender, McGuire began to be held to account, with his name gaining further mud each time he shot from the hip.
He always claimed his heart was in the right place, with those that know the man privately vouching for him, but with each faux pas and each strained explanation and apology, it became clear that his heart was not the anatomic issue. It was the proximity of his mouth to his mind.
Despite the damage caused and the ever-growing crowd of those calling for his resignation, McGuire remained at Olympic Park and in his plush Member's wing seat on the second level of the MCG.
The decline
Irrespective of status, there are only so many apologies one can issue for the same sin.
Failure to clean your bedroom as a child usually results in becoming grounded. An inability to uphold workplace standards is likely to land you on the breadline.
McGuire, like his friend Shane Warne, became a master of spin. However, unlike the brilliant Test Cricketer, eventually the public began to learn how to play it.
Although Tuesday's press conference was a long time coming, it still had the ability to surprise people across the aforementioned โlove/hate' spectrum.
Eddie spun and he spun to the bitter end, but eventually those within the four walls he secured at a boardroom table had seen enough.
The legacy
Last week, Zero Hanger Editor in Chief, Ben Cotton publicly posed a question โ After more than two decades as Collingwood's head honcho, what is Eddie McGuire's legacy?
OPINION: Eddie missed a major trick yesterday and could have ended his reign as Collingwood president on a high. In fact, he did the... #AFL https://t.co/K0EYRc0I7s
— Zero Hanger (@zerohanger) February 2, 2021
Should you ask me, I would tell you that this is up to you to decide. The man did so much good for so many, as evidenced by his work with the Magpie's Salvation Army Cafรฉ and his implementation of indigenous and community programs, but do his comments and pig headedness subvert these efforts?
What is known is that Collingwood have been able to place themselves back on the tracks swiftly after previous presidents have run the carriages off them. Just look at the rapid rises to prominence after Ern Clarke and Ranald MacDonald were shown the door in the 70s and 80s respectively.
However, as we now know, this is hardly the point.
Should the incoming President fail to rectify the now public ills within the club's walls, then this whole exercise of ousting will have been ceremonial at best.
It is clear to all that we as a society wield the power to hold even the previously impregnable to account, so a lesson must be learnt away from the boundary line. No longer can Grand Final appearances, the odd flag and a healthy bottom line be provided as signifiers of success.
As the report suggests, Collingwood must do better.
