A tsunami of different shades of red flooded the streets of Melbourne as football fans turned out to catch a glimpse of their footy heroes on the eve of the AFL Grand Final.
Hundreds of thousands had been slated to line the streets to get up close and personal with Sydney Swans and Brisbane Lions players, as they rode in the back of utes at the grand final parade on Friday morning.
For the first time in 18 years, two non-Victorian teams are contesting the premiership.
The parade took a new route this year, with players and coaches travelling via motorcade from Melbourne Park Oval, across to the MCG and then finishing at Yarra Park.
Swans fan Adam Parker travelled from the Mornington Peninsula with his family to catch players before they face off for premiership glory at the MCG on Saturday.
“The kids got to see all the players up close and the atmosphere was really good,” he told AAP.
A fan for more than a decade, Mr Parker hails from New Zealand and said he adopted Sydney after being “forced” by his Australian mates to pick a team.
“I wanted to be someone different, so I went for an interstate team. I went with Sydney, and the first game I watched was the 2012 grand final,” he said.
Melburnians Paul McLaughlin and his sister Sharon Phillips’ support for the Lions run a little deeper, having followed the team for about half a century – back when they were the Fitzroy Bears.
“Mum’s 85 or 86 and she used to go take us and the cousins, so she’s followed Fitzroy all her life and so did her parents,” Ms Phillips said.
Mr McLaughlin’s son Ryan and Ms Phillip’s daughter Claire have continued the family tradition.
“When I was born, I wouldn’t say forced, but I wanted to go down that road to Brisbane,” Ryan told AAP.
“So far it’s worked out, which in the early stages it wasn’t, but eventually the success came so I could be more happier.”
The family are big fans of the grand final eve parade and have attended multiple times even when their team wasn’t among the final two.
“It gives crowd interaction with the players, and the footy players seem to respect and appreciate all the crowd turning up, so that’s a bit of fun,” Mr McLaughlin told AAP.
The Swans had beaten the resurgent Port Adelaide while the Lions overcame Geelong to reach the last dance.
Victorian Minister for Sport Steve Dimopoulos said having two interstate teams compete in the grand final was a good outcome for tourism and economic activity.
“It’s the first time for 18 years that two interstate teams are in the grand final, which means we’re lucky enough to welcome tens of thousands of visitors from the rest of the country,” he said.
Airlines have put on an extra 40 flights to bring fans from Brisbane and Sydney to Melbourne.
The government has put on 56 additional train services and eight out of 10 hotels in Melbourne are booked out this weekend.
