It's 41 years since you opened for business when Geelong played Fitzroy - April 18, 1970.
I wasn’t there that afternoon - I attended my first game there two years later when St Kilda beat Melbourne. It wasn't the start of a lifelong love affair because the MCG will always be my favourite sporting cathedral, but I’m happy to say I grew to like you.
And 11 years after your departure, I still miss you.
I'm not one to gloss over your faults, and yes, there were a few.
But having attended between ten and 15 games a year there from the late 1980s through to your closure at the end of 1999 (thanks to the aversion my inner-suburban dwelling, latte-sipping colleagues from The Age had at the time to any ground not accessible by a Zone One Metcard), I came to regard as you as a familiar and friendly companion.
The more I attended, the more familiar I was with your quirks - the quickest food stand, the best coffee, the cleanest toilets and the best place to park. By the end, I even knew the traffic patterns - how much time to allow between home and the ground, not withstanding the lightning-quick green arrow at the first of the Wellington Road turnoffs.
I knew the place so well that today, when work requirements take me to visit the Hawthorn Football Club, I can walk through their impressive facility and determine with reasonable accuracy that where there are now offices, used to be a dining room. What is now a dental surgery, used to be where the hot chips stand was. The Bob Skilton Bar is now a crèche.
I could see your closure coming a mile off. The moment the AFL convinced the then state government to make the proposed Docklands Stadium round instead of rectangular, your future as an AFL venue was sealed.
By the end, only the Hawks were showing you any love. Even the other co-tenant, St Kilda, would regale guests at its pre-game functions (of which I attended a few) as to what a dump you were, how they couldn't wait to ditch you and how successful they would be at the Docklands.
St Kilda won two and a half games in 2000.
I'm not one of these deluded romantics yearning for the days of six matches on a Saturday and no teams from interstate. I do think there is room for a third, boutique-style football stadium in Melbourne, but contrary to the argument put forward by my friend Howard Kotton in this space last week, it shouldn’t be at Visy (Princes) Park.
Instead, and by applying similar logic to the AFL's claim to need teams on the Gold Coast and western Sydney because they are developing markets, a third AFL venue in Melbourne should also be placed in a growth area such as the outer western or south-eastern corridors.
Cranbourne, it should be noted, now has a train line.
What was also good about Waverley was the abundance of good seats for the price of a general admission ticket. If there is to be a third stadium somewhere in Melbourne, let that be a key deliverable.
Those like me, the father of children fostering an interest in the game, would be most grateful.
So happy birthday, old girl. We’ll always have the memories.
The views expressed here are not necessarily those of the AFL or the clubs.
You can follow Ashley Browne on Twitter @hashbrowne
