Football codes are walking a fine line with Anzac Day. More than ever, they must be careful about hijacking an occasion when the game should come second, our war veterans always should come first. Kevin Sheedy understands this better than anyone.
"Our veterans and the work of our defence forces must never fall back into the shadows on Anzac Day," insists Sheedy, who did two years of national service in the late 1960s and conceived the first Anzac Day game in 1995 involving his club, Essendon, and Collingwood.
Sport has - and hasn't - been played on our truly national day during the past hundred years.
The day has been given new context since that afternoon 20 years ago when 94,000 fans packed into the MCG to watch the Pies and Bombers fight out a dramatic draw.
In 2002, rugby league started its own tradition with the first of its annual matches involving the Roosters and Dragons.
On Saturday, the NRL and AFL will both host five matches, with the first for each code starting before noon while many Anzac Day marches across the country are still going.
Other sports are climbing aboard, wanting to honour our nation while also carving out "audience" on a day that is supposed to be sacred.
Waratahs boss Greg Harris said this month that the idea of a Bledisloe Cup clash between the Wallabies and All Blacks was a missed opportunity.
"It's a mark of respect and a mark of the special bond and friendship between the two countries," he said in reference to Australia and New Zealand, before knocking on with this regrettable remark: "But it's also a commercial decision."
Anzac Day should never be mentioned in the same breath as "commercial decision" - although someone at Collingwood certainly has dollar signs in their eyes.
The Pies have come under fire this year for offering "Anzac Day Packages", providing additional entry to matches later in the season against Melbourne and Greater Western Sydney for $200.
Big business is rightfully copping it in the neck for cashing in on the Anzac legend. Sport should heed the warning.
This year, the convergence of Anzac Day falling on a Saturday and the 100th anniversary of the landing at Gallipoli has prompted the NRL to host more matches than usual on this day.
The intentions of all codes are no doubt well placed, but is a 10-hour footy feast labouring the point?
The AFL usually plays five matches on a Saturday, although a match in New Zealand starting before noon while the marches are still going in Australia has attracted criticism from the Victorian branch of the RSL. The NRL says it wasn't met with any criticism from the RSL about its five-match schedule.
Ever the optimist, Sheedy has no issue with the footy marathon in either code.
"I understand that this year, being on a Saturday, it's an opportunity for more than a couple of clubs to celebrate," says Sheedy. "It's how we explain the historical story. No club should own Anzac Day. It belongs to the RSL and the defence forces. All we are doing is using the stage to educate our nation on what happened [during war]. We are a vehicle to tell that story."
Some would argue the football codes should provide more than that, with sell-out crowds ensuring healthy profits at most venues. The traditional Roosters-Dragons match at Allianz Stadium is all but sold out, with more than 40,000 expected to attend.
The NRL says it provides collection points at all matches this weekend for donations, and there is free entry for all veterans. It is also considering the idea of giving one dollar from each person through the gates to the Australian and New Zealand branches of the RSL.
The AFL says it donates about $300,000 to the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, with thousands more collected in tin rattles outside stadiums.
Still, some aren't happy.
WA Veterans Minister Joe Francis last month accused the AFL of profiting from Anzac Day games involving the Fremantle Dockers, telling The New Daily: "Anzac Day was not designed so the AFL could create an event out of it."
That is why the ARU is saying very little about staging a Bledisloe Test on Anzac Day. We're assured it will never happen - not just because the timing of Anzac Day doesn't fit into the international schedule but because it is wary about adding to the "Anzac noise".
The ARU would prefer to quietly go about donating time rather than money, with leading players involved in "Mates4mates" - a charity that supports wounded, injured and ill Australian Defence Force personnel, whether they are serving or not.
Anzac Day has for many turned into a booze and two-up fest. Complaints about not being afforded a public holiday on Monday because Anzac Day this year falls on a Saturday entirely misses the point about what should be a sombre day of remembrance.
Footy can never allow itself to also miss the point.
My most vivid memory of April 25 came about a decade ago.
Standing on George Street with my father, we watched the passing parade of war veterans, some of them with tears running down their cheeks with pride and sorrow and everything in between.
Afterwards, a couple of beers were shared with random servicemen and women at a nearby pub, which was packed. Then a walk through the streets of Surry Hills with fans in Roosters and Dragons jumpers, and those in more important uniform coming from all aspects of the defence forces.
Then we listened to the Last Post, the bugle the only sound in a silent stadium.
Then we watched a game of footy.
I can't remember who won. It didn't really matter. The footy came second, as it always should. Lest we forget.
