The media counted to three and when there had not been a raft of exposures, charges, arrests, raids, shootings, stabbings, suicides, kidnapping and jail sentences, the machine kicked into gear.
The "blackest day in Australian sport" was scorned and called a political stunt. Grandstanding. Mostly they mocked the moment. Called it contrived. Called it a sham. A distraction for an ailing government.
Just as the political commentators had utterly misread Julia Gillard's misogyny speech, the significance of the media conference held in Canberra on   February 7, 2013, was to be quickly dismissed as the final thrashings of a terminally ill government. Well, at least the commentators got a "government as good as dead" bit right. 
What could not be disputed on that Thursday more than three years ago was the depth and spread of the allegations detailed in the Australian Crime Commission's investigation Project Aperio.
Key and damning findings included widespread use of prohib-ited substances including peptides, hormones and illicit drugs in -professional sport. Players administered with substances not approved for human use. Organised crime identities and groups involved in the distribution of banned drugs to athletes and sports staff. Personal links between professional athletes and organised criminal identities and groups that may have resulted in match-fixing.
The findings were announced at a news conference attended by then Labor government sports minister Kate Lundy, then justice minister Jason Clare and boss of the Australian Crime Commission John Lawler.
Packed down around them in a scrum of grim concern were the heads of the nation's major sports: David Gallop (chief executive of Football Federation Australia), Dave Smith (then CEO of the NRL), James Sutherland (Cricket Australia boss), Bill Pulver (Aust-ralian Rugby Union CEO) and Andrew Demetriou (then AFL chief), and then head of the -Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority, Aurora Andruska.
Former ASADA chief Richard Ings was the man to famously add to the gravitas of the day when he commented that: "This is not a black day in Australian sport, this is the blackest day." Initially the language painted a desperate, almost irretrievable situation. Justice minister Clare said: "The findings are shocking and they'll disgust Australian sports fans." That night ABC reporter Chris Uhlmann told 7.30 viewers: "Australian professional sport is a $9 billion-a-year dream industry, supported by millions of ardent believers. Today the government shook the nation's faith in its heroes." Only two weeks on, still in   February 2013, the language began to change. Herald Sun blogger Andrew Bolt, calling it a massive political stunt, offered this: "Andrew Demetriou, get back on that stage. Fix the damage done to your game and say you were conned. Say we were all conned when huff-puffing politicians two weeks ago suggested Australian sport was riddled with drugs, criminals and allegations of match-fixing. Say you have a duty to fix the damage you helped cause by legitimising the press stunt with your presence. Let's recall how we were first sold the Australian Crime Commission's report into organised crime and sport - one suspiciously short of evidence and names. Justice minister Jason Clare, flanked by the Big Sport Five, thundered: 'It shocked me.' Sport minister Kate Lundy warned: 'Today is about the integrity of sport in Australia ... If you want to fix a match, we will catch you'," blurted blogging Bolt.
Mmm. On Thursday this week news broke that NSW police were investigating two NRL games played last year on suspicion of match-fixing.
Colleague Brent Read reported yesterday: "Up to six players are in the sights of the organised crime squad after the NRL and NSW police confirmed yesterday they were reviewing allegations of match-fixing - amid claims -players were offered $50,000 each - in relation to two Manly Sea Eagles games last season." And in between now and the   February 2013 news conference ridiculed so prematurely by so many, 34 past and present Essendon players have been banned for 12 months, sport witch doctor -Stephen Dank warned off for life by both the NRL and AFL and 14 NRL players banned for three months for breaches of ASADA drug rules.
Essendon coach James Hird was suspended for 12 months by the AFL and Cronulla coach Shane Flanagan was suspended for a season by the NRL. Both clubs were fined millions for lack of governance. Hird was then finally sacked by his club. Assistant coaches have been replaced, officials fined, administrators sacked or wisely chose to resign.
Set all that drama to one side and ASADA reports they have -issued more than 120 other -sanctions across 20 sports since   February 2013.
That is not to mention how the first week of this year's Australian Open tennis was trampled by -reports and investigations into match-fixing in professional -tennis. Horse racing was rocked by suspensions and retirements of leading trainers as the sport was bedevilled by the illegal use of the performance-enhancing drug cobalt. Or that Melbourne Football Club lost an official and a coach after an investigation found the club tanked matches to win more favourable draft picks. Throw in six men arrested for fixing soccer matches in the Victorian Premier League and the   February 2013 press conference appears to have underplayed the concerns about cheating and corruption in sport.
Those who so quickly dismissed the "blackest day in sport" news conference as a political -diversion chose to treat Australia in both isolation and innocence. They did not take into account sport and its sores all around the world. FIFA, the governing body of soccer, has been proved to be corrupt on many levels. Athletics has been shown to be corrupt, Russian athletes are banned because of systemic performance-enhancing drug abuse. Lance Armstrong. Cricket continues to fight spot- and match-fixing.
Every day new technology, every day new ways to cheat. -Foreign unlicensed bookmakers suck money from Australian sport leaving authorities no way to check betting accounts, monitor betting patterns.If Lundy, Clare and Lawler made a mistake back in 2013 it was that they underplayed the threat to Australian sport. And this week's NRL experience only served to underline it.