There were lots of them.
And in this week's AFL Record Gibson explains the reasons why.
"Yeah, I copped a bit of flak," he admits. "The emotion wasn't just from that year but the whole career. It was about the choices I've made, even though they were tough at the time … and I celebrated with some tears."
"The perception last year was that only a premiership would be a pass mark for Hawthorn. The seasons before we'd had such heartache and stumbled, but its funny, the week before I didn't react that way after finally beating Geelong with that comeback in the last quarter.
"It's a childhood dream. You leave one club to come to another and part of the attraction is the silverware," he continued. "For myself and 'Shauny' (Shaun Burgoyne, who crossed from Port Adelaide in 2010) who had come over at the same time, it was a really nice reward."
Gibson walked out on North Melbourne at the end of 2009 because he believed he was best suited to play as a key defender and that the opportunities to develop his career would be better suited at Hawthorn.
He grew up a Hawthorn supporter but explained there was nothing romantic about wearing the jumper for the first time.
"This was a business decision and Hawthorn was going to be the best for my job and what I do, and since coming across I have tried to prove myself as a defender and hopefully prove to Hawthorn this was the right choice and I'm giving them what they wanted," he said.
Leaving North Melbourne was hard, and there was fury from many at that club when he made that decision, which again explains the outpouring of emotion after the Grand Final.
"It was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. There were plenty of angry North people and I have to live with the fact that some of those relationships will never be rebuilt and as tough as that is, if I were basing the decision on friendships I'd have stayed at North Melbourne," he said.
Gibson ripped his hamstring off the bone in just his third match for Hawthorn but his last three seasons have been outstanding, culminating in the prized honour of winning the club best and fairest in a premiership year.
A gregarious character, Gibson also explained how he walks the line between his football and the active business and social life he leads away from the club.
"Without sounding too much like a loser, I'm really meticulous in how I go about preparing for my football. I'm borderline OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) with my preparation and I never let anything compromise that," Gibson said.
The 30-year-old earns rave reviews from coach Alastair Clarkson in that respect. "A very, very proud man," he said.
"He's an enormous competitor and with Sam Mitchell and a couple of others, right up there with the best trainers and preparers I've seen at our footy club. His professionalism is second to none."
Read the full interview in the round three edition of the AFL Record, available at all grounds.
