Thirteen months after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic, Australia's Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) has hosted a post-pandemic world record crowd of 78,113 fans for the traditional Anzac Day AFL clash between Collingwood and Essendon.
After COVID-19 put a line through the 2020 blockbuster, a record crowd turned out to watch Collingwood and Essendon face-off in their Round 6 clash on Sunday.
The crowd comfortably topped the 67,000 that attended a Twenty20 cricket match between India and England in Ahmedabad last month.
Sitting 15th and 16th on the ladder, both teams are enduring difficult seasons but that did nothing to subdue the atmosphere.
Fans in the state of Victoria have been more reluctant than normal to attend games this year as the world adapts to life post-COVID.
But with the state government this week increasing capacity at the MCG to 85 percent, no diehard fan was missing this.
People arrived early to watch the Army band perform an array of rocking covers, including The Darkness' I Believe in a Thing Called Love.
But the true spine-tingling moments were still to come.
On the same weekend supporter banners have returned to AFL fields, Collingwood and Essendon ran through the same one - an entrance which has become an Anzac Day tradition.
Next was the minute's silence and the performance of the Last Post.
While last year's recorded rendition was unforgettable in its own way, once again having a stadium full of people remembering the sacrifices of fallen soldiers was truly special.
The Last Post is played before all games during the Anzac Day round, but what stands out at the Collingwood-Essendon clash is the roar after the national anthem.
Not since the 2019 finals series has there been such a loud noise at a football game in Victoria.