‘Means everything’: Eddie McGuire returns to Collingwood for first time since 2021
Eddie McGuire has detailed his first return for a Collingwood function since he resigned as club president in 2021 as he was inducted as a life member of the club’s Past Players Association.
McGuire resigned as the Magpies’ president in February 2021 after the release of the “Do Better” report that accused Collingwood of fostering “systemic racism”. He had earlier revealed his intention to stand down at the end of 2021.
McGuire had held the post since 1998.
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While he had been one of the most influential figures in the club’s modern history, McGuire has kept a distance between himself and the club that he loves.
But speaking on Channel 9’s Footy Classified after he was given life membership by the former players earlier in the night, the 58-year-old was clearly overwhelmed.
Awarded a No. 22 jersey for his 22 years as the club president, McGuire said it meant even more that it was coming from the players.
“It means everything to me,” he said.
“The players are everything in footy and the rest of us are just trying to keep the show going and that’s why I’m rapt to see the players getting paid.
“I was really emotional tonight because it means so much to me. Each one of those people at Collingwood — and every other club, I speak on behalf of every supporter — I didn’t worry about Batman and Superman, I used to go every weekend and see my heroes and occasionally get an autograph and a pat on the head, they were just everything.”
McGuire said it had actually been nearly four years since he had attended a function due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The No. 22 jersey had even more significance with Tony Shaw, who was one of the players who donned the famous number, “the reason I barrack for the Pies”, McGuire said.
He admitted he was welling up just talking about the honour.
McGuire was handed a life membership in 2004 along side club champion Nathan Buckley said that the latest honour was special after there being some time between his involvement in the club and the induction.
“The life membership I got at the time I was right in full battle mode, so it’s sometimes better to go away and have some distance from active service,” he said.
“Tonight, to come back to the club where they’ve finished the last bit of development I was involved in — it looks a treat — to hand the baton over to (current president) Jeff Browne and his team and to (Collingwood coach) Craig McRae, and for them to take it to the next level, I’m just a supporter now and I’ve gone back to what it was like when I was a kid.”
McGuire had long been one of the most influential presidents in the game before his resignation in 2021.
It’s been a big year for McGuire as he was awarded a life membership to the AFL in February 2023.
McGuire’s achievements in the game go beyond his work as Collingwood president, a position he assumed in 1998 and only relinquished in 2021, including his work as a journalist and then commentator.
His efforts at the Magpies helped grow the club into an Australian sporting powerhouse.