Over the course of the past month, the Essendon Football Club, in conjunction with Fox Sports and Kayo, have provided their ardent supporters with a brilliant lens to view their storied past.
Throughout the course of seven half-hour instalments and a singular 60-minute special, the stitches of the Dons' rich tapestry have been held up to the light in the docuseries 'The Bombers: Stories of a Great Club'.
Despite being a footy disciple that prays at an altar away from Windy Hill, the tales, tidbits and illuminating talks were still wonderfully engrossing as an outsider.
Since the first pair of episodes aired on Tuesday October 19 until the series' completion seven-days ago, I have sat and let the Bombers' history blitz me each week while recording my wandering thoughts along the way.
So, with the shooting and interviewing now wrapped and Ben Rutten's 'Baby Bombers' back on the training track, here are my final set of questions from the last pair of episodes.
Is James Hird still the third-best player in Essendon's history?
For the first 15 weeks of James Hird's 12th season as a Bomber, a series of fan ballots were requested and collected.
The aim of this democratic act was to identify and separate the greatest player to ever pull on a red and black guernsey from amongst their peers.
While this honour was eventually bestowed upon Dick Reynolds on August 30, 2002, the fact that Hird had managed to earn a podium finish almost half a decade prior to his retirement was a ridiculous feat.
With his trifecta of Brownlows and quartet of flags as a player and coach, there remains no denying that Reynolds deserved this bestowal only days before his eventual death.
Still, if the same vote was undertaken ahead of the club's 150th season, it would prove fascinating to find just how much, or little, the leaderboard was altered.
For full disclosure, here is how the 25-name leaderboard read nearly 20-years ago:
1. Dick Reynolds
2. John Coleman
3. James Hird
4. Bill Hutchison
5. Simon Madden
6. Tim Watson
7. Ken Fraser
8. Jack Clarke
9. Albert Thurgood
10. Tom Fitzmaurice
11. Terry Daniher
12. Wally Buttsworth
13. Reg Burgess
14. Bill Busbridge
15. Barry Davis
16. Keith Forbes
17. Graham Moss
18. Mark Harvey
19. Gavin Wanganeen
20. Mark Thompson
21. John Birt
22. Matthew Lloyd
23. Michael Long
24. Fred Baring
25. Harold Lambert
Given exercises of this nature are more prone to starting arguments rather than ending them, I have absolutely no doubts that by simply raising this list, I have kicked off debates in loungerooms across the nation.
As a pair of decades have passed since the point of this list's creation, I am also sure that names like Zach Merrett and Dustin Fletcher will be claimed as certainties for inclusion, with a smattering of other names sure to be raised as possibilities.
Due to my footballing heart lying around 30-kilometres south of Windy Hill, I am not the most qualified person to pass judgement on any of these hypothetical votes.
And as someone who missed the careers of top-five members Reynolds, Coleman, Hutchison and Madden, I am also at a loss on whether their order needs reshuffling.
However, as someone that grew up during James Hird's almost perpetual peak, if you're willing to argue a case that the third-generation Bomber requires a raise, I am also not prepared to argue with you.
