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The Australian Football League did not just replace the V with an A, or so they will tell you.
The AFL is a genuinely national competition now.
At least two teams in every state on the map (if you use the 1982 Brisbane Commonwealth Games version that did not include Tasmania).
Enormous revenue bolstered by media rights deals dependent on national "content" — never mind a large part of that revenue is being used to keep some of those content providers afloat.
And if the AFL is headquartered in Melbourne, where the grand final will be played every year until 2057 courtesy of a new deal with the Victorian Government?
Well, AFL officials will say, "You have to preserve your heritage". Even as they scheme to paint giant novelty-sized goal squares on their grounds.
But whether or not you accept the AFL's claim to genuine national status, this week it will be like one of those greying celebrities with a dodgy dye job.
Its roots will be showing.
Friday night's preliminary final between Richmond and Collingwood is not just the hottest ticket in recent AFL history.
The clash of former suburban giants will evoke misty-eyed nostalgia from those Victorians who still refer to the Eagles or Swans as "interstate teams".
This is partly because, in competitive terms, Richmond v Collingwood has not been a genuine rivalry since well before the Berlin Wall came down.
While Hawthorn and Essendon, Sydney and West Coast and Hawthorn and Geelong have fostered fierce contemporary rivalries, Collingwood and Richmond's perceived hostility rests almost exclusively on history as ancient as the five grand finals the clubs contested between 1919 and 1929.
The (relatively) modern competitive history of Richmond and Collingwood is the lingering memory of the one-sided 1980 grand final won by the Tigers by a then-record 81 points. And — perhaps as pertinently — the subsequent recruiting war that erupted between the clubs.
This was the tit-for-tat dispute during which Richmond premiership stars David Cloke and Geoff Raines defected to Collingwood, the Tigers retaliated by poaching a handful of Magpies including gun rookie Phillip Walsh, and both teams floundered as a result of their profligate spending.
Collingwood could claim victory in the recruiting skirmish because it recovered to win the 1990 premiership, while the Tigers went into a decades-long tail spin.
But as the Tigers attempt to win back-to-back premierships for the first time since 1973-74, they might respond that their crushing 1980 grand final victory is still paying (very belated) dividends.
Richmond did not fulfil the title of "team of the decade" bestowed upon a seemingly invincible line-up after that glorious 1980 day.
But the incredible hype that premiership created nurtured a generation of devoted Tiger fans who stayed with the club through thin and thinner, and are now relishing being in the thick of finals action.
In that context, the Tigers have perfectly timed their first meeting with the Magpies in a final for 38 years.
Reigning premiers, clear-cut premiership favourites, home to superstars including as Dustin Martin, Jack Riewoldt, Alex Rance and Trent Cotchin (and soon to be of Gold Coast forward Tom Lynch) and cheered on by 100,000 registered members.
Richmond has not been this strong competitively or financially since … 1980.
A recreation of the 1980 grand final massacre on Friday night would provide ultimate closure for the children of the Michael "Disco" Roach era who were forced to wait so long for this current period of domination.
Collingwood? It has been derided by some as a mere Richmond tribute band, such are the similarities between its own competitive renaissance and that of Tigers.
Like Richmond — or perhaps because of Richmond — Collingwood rejected decades of traditional football thinking and re-signed a struggling coach (Nathan Buckley).
Like Richmond, the Magpies instituted a widespread review of club operations that informed the appointment of the new chief executive, the installation of talented assistant coaches, a makeover of the football department and, inevitably, inspired Buckley's improved performance.
Like Richmond, the Magpies rely on fierce forward line pressure to compensate for a shortage of traditional key forwards. A style that briefly buckled, but did not break, the Tigers this season.
But if Collingwood has flattered Richmond by imitation, it will be the differences that will define the result of this hugely anticipated game.
Most likely, it will be the Tigers' edge in both top-end talent, across-the-park depth and much fresher legs that prove decisive.
But if Collingwood appears weary and vulnerable, backing up from a trip to Perth and a tough game against the Giants with just a six day break, for once in their chequered finals history the Magpies might enjoy a small psychological advantage.
Eternally burdened by hype and expectation, the Magpies will enter this game as the heavy underdog whereas the Tigers are the closest thing a competition levelled by the salary cap and draft has to Winx.
Only two results seem possible — Richmond by plenty or a hard fought scrap.
Either way, an old suburban stoush based almost primarily on the battles of the ancient past will finally enter the game's new age.
Topics: australian-football-league, sport, vic, australia