While it's true that Friday night football first appeared on our television screens 25 years ago, it actually wasn't until two years later that it became a regular feature. I remember it well. It was 1987, the year the Seven Network unexpectedly relinquished its hold on the rights a few weeks out from the season. Suddenly the footy was on the ABC. For those of us working in Auntie's Victorian sporting office, this was gold.

The ABC's Managing Director at the time, David Hill, came down from Sydney and we held a modest media launch in the old Olympic Stand at the MCG. Hill announced the details of our coverage, leaving the best till last: "The jewel in the crown will be ... our live coverage every Sunday afternoon." Sounds laughable now, but that was the way it was.

Before you say "typical bloody ABC", there was method in this apparent madness. The VFL in those days not only insisted that Friday night coverage of matches in Melbourne be delayed, it didn't allow transmission to start until 9.30pm! And you reckon you've got it tough now.

It should also be remembered that regular live coverage of VFL matches had begun only five years earlier, when the Swans moved to Sydney. They played their home games on Sundays and these were televised direct into Melbourne. Thus, Sunday afternoon was established as the time for viewing footy live on TV. Friday night games, when introduced three years later, were very much a novelty.

There were 17 Friday night matches scheduled in that 1987 season, eight in Melbourne the remainder in either Sydney or Perth. Six of the Melbourne games featured those unloved old Shinboners. North's opponents in the first three rounds were the fledgling Brisbane Bears, the success-starved Melbourne, and the perennially-broke Fitzroy. Round 22, I recall, was the battle for the wooden spoon between Richmond and the Bears. The VFL was hardly identifying Friday night as a showpiece occasion.

Not an organisation always renowned for its flexibility, the ABC turned its scheduling upside down that winter to accommodate its new ratings winner and went live with the Friday games played interstate. It was stuck with the 9.30 start, though, for Melbourne games. Sunday matches were all played interstate, were transmitted live, and achieved bigger ratings than Friday nights.

How different it is today. Friday night is unarguably the big one. It's interesting to reflect that when the Channel Nine entered football coverage in 2002, in a consortium with Ten and Foxtel, it hungrily negotiated for Friday nights and traded off to Ten exclusive rights to the finals. That was how it saw the landscape. It was a decision quickly regretted in relation to the finals, but it reflected the value Friday night football had by then achieved.

Eight seasons on, and notwithstanding frustration at delayed coverage, that capital has only grown. Big screens, home theatres, surround sound, high definition coverage and - perhaps most importantly - compatibility with the lifestyle of the masses, have made the Friday night game ... special.

Which brings me to Bruce McAvaney. In any assessment of the growth of Friday night football, Bruce's contribution shouldn't be overlooked. Back when North Melbourne was still figuring prominently in the schedule, a stirring last quarter by the Kangas with a few throaty "Careeeeys" thrown in seemed like a weekly event. The combination of Bruce and the King may just have been the making of what we have today.

It's interesting, now, to observe the discussion about the possibility of Monday night games becoming a regular part of the football week. The most common response I hear is to the effect that by Sunday night we've had enough. It's as though the public still regards football as a weekend event and that Monday doesn't fit with that.

Friday night, on the other hand, fits perfectly. The week is done, the weekend is just beginning and so is the footy. Dinner's been had, the contest is hot, the beer is cold. What could be better? A 7.30pm start you say? Well, just remember: you're a darned sight better off now than you were 23 years ago.