Saturday marked 7,000 days since Saturday, September 4, 2004, when Essendon defeated Melbourne by 5 points in an Elimination Final at the MCG.

Since then, the Dons have matched the league record for 7 consecutive finals defeats:

Lost to Geelong in the 2004 Semi Final

Lost to Adelaide in the 2009 Elimination Final

Lost to Carlton in the 2011 Elimination Final

Lost to North Melbourne in the 2014 Elimination Final

Lost to Sydney in the 2017 Elimination Final

Lost to West Coast in the 2019 Elimination Final

Lost to the Western Bulldogs in the 2021 Elimination Final.

Two other fun facts:

The delayed 2020 season is the only time since the 2001 Grand Final that Essendon have played a game after September 15 during a season.

Kevin Sheedy is the only person to coach Essendon to a finals win since the moon landing.