AND there it was for all to see in black and white.
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According to the faithful, and there were quite a few of them at Eastern Oval, North was back to where it belongs or had climbed the mountain for the first time. No one was completely sure which. People would write their own story depending upon how old they were.
Ballarat Football League grand final day isn't about one game of football, though. It began with triumphs for North Ballarat City (under-18.5) and Redan (reserves) in the footy; Ballarat (under-18.5), Bacchus Marsh (C-grade) and East Point (B-grade) in the netball. Even Sunbury had some joy with its maiden A-grade netball premiership.
And for the hours before the senior football grand final began there were already dozens of people in a variety of shades, wandering around with premiership medals.
It also meant there was no shortage of football jumpers, polo shirts and hoodies that were neither black-and-white nor royal blue-and-white. During the heat of the reserves grand final there seemed to be almost as much maroon-and-gold as anything else although much of that began to dissipate after about 2.30pm.
"Is there a game after this?" said one current senior Redan player, when asked which team he would be supporting in the main event.
"Fremantle," said another, without even looking up.
The greater part of the crowd was overtly supporting the "home team" in black-and-white, although there were a couple of strong packets of blue and white from the east, particularly at the Peel Street end of the ground.
However a straw poll of those who weren't overtly backing one side of the other told a very different story. Lake Wendouree, Ballarat, Sebastopol, Melton South, East Point - even Darley (albeit grudgingly) were quietly barracking for out-of-towners. Apart from a group of Bacchus Marsh netballers, who couldn't bear to barrack for Sunbury.
The build-up up to the main event concluded with the toss (won by Sunbury skipper Jay Cheep), and the national anthem (performed by Mark Muldoon).
"Strap yourselves in, this one will be a classic," declared BFL spruiker Shane Kelly.
And then it was on.
Perhaps reflecting the ambivalence of many of the neutral supporters, there was an eerie hush during the first few minutes of the game at the city end. There was a subdued cheer when Daniel Jones kicked North's first, and a louder, more confident one as the black-and-white banged on five in a row.
Likewise, there was muted applause when Sunbury kicked its first, which built as the Lions fought back.
Things were louder over towards the scoreboard, and more colourful too. And that included the language.
The Sunbury group included at least one bloke dressed in a tatty lion suit. Some of his colleagues looked only marginally less disheveled. One received a stern talking to from a couple of police officers.
"The crowd was well behaved," said police Sergeant Dave Collins. "One patron was locked up and received a penalty notice for (being) drunk."
To the left of the "Sunba crew" was a gathering with orange and black balloons, showing their support for the umpires. Seriously.
And on the other side, further along the wing were North City under-18.5s, flush with their earlier success.
It was the latter group that had the last laugh and celebrated, as did their boys on the field, as the North juggernaut steamed home.
"To the 22 boys who represented the club today," declared North Ballarat City coach Rob Waters. "You are now premiership players, the first ever for North Ballarat City."
