Essendon have decided the best way to handle February 5 is to confront it, head on.
The club has started what appears to be a membership and marketing campaign with the simple slogan 05.02.14.
Wednesday marks the first anniversary of the momentous announcement that Essendon were coming under AFL and Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority investigation for the club’s supplements program.
Coach James Hird, club chairman David Evans and chief executive Ian Robson fronted a media conference to reveal the investigations and looked like someone close to them had died.
On Tuesday, the club’s website carried four short video clips featuring interim head coach Mark Thompson and senior players Brendon Goddard, David Zaharakis and Dyson Heppell.
The Bombers have also called a Wednesday media conference involving Thompson, captain Jobe Watson and their 1965 premiership captain Ken Fraser.
The supplements scandal has caused massive damage to Essendon and the AFL.
And the worst might be yet to come, with ASADA’s investigation continuing.
Robson resigned last May, Evans left his post because of ill health in August and Hird is under a 12-month AFL suspension.
The league also kicked Essendon out of the finals, docked them valuable draft picks and fined the Bombers $2 million.
Football manager Danny Corcoran was suspended and has subsequently resigned, while Thompson was fined $30,000.
The scandal overshadowed the AFL season last year and came close to causing Supreme Court action as a bitter rift developed between the league and Essendon.
Hard-core Essendon fans remain firmly behind Hird and post-season events such as the club’s best and fairest count and annual general meeting have demonstrated the depth of the ill-feeling among them towards the league.