Geelong's season-long dominance of the AFL in 2008 has counted for nothing as the Cats' dream of back-to-back flags for the first time since 1952 evaporated at the hands of an inspired Hawthorn and a case of the goal-kicking yips at the MCG on Saturday.
The Cats came into the premiership decider on the back of just one loss all season and 42 wins in their past 44 matches - including last year's record-breaking 119-point win over Port Adelaide - but self-destructed on Saturday as they booted 1.9 in the second quarter to go down 18.7 (115) to 11.23 (89) in front of 100,012 fans.
The Hawks were magnificently led by vice-captain Luke Hodge, the man who was splitting blood during quarter-time of last week's preliminary final win over St Kilda, yet showed his courage by leading from the front to win the Norm Smith Medal for best afield.
It was the first time more than 100,000 had attended any AFL match since the 1986 grand final - one of four Hawks premierships in that decade - and they were treated to the biggest upset in a grand final since 1958 when Collingwood ended Melbourne's dream of four premierships in a row.
But make no mistake the Hawks - inspired by a frenzied MCG crowd which was clearly behind the underdogs - deserved their first premiership since 1991 and considering they played most of the second half with just 20 fit players, this also deserves to be ranked as one of the bravest premiership wins in recent AFL history.
While the Cats also lost skipper Tom Harley to concussion late in the second term, the Hawks were without their most experienced defender Trent Croad, whose injured foot flared again early in the second quarter, and pacy wingman Clinton Young, who suffered an ankle injury early in the third term.
But with former skipper Shane Crawford providing the inspiration, the Hawks shrugged off those losses to steamroll the Cats in the second half with 10 goals to five on a warm day when it really should have been the Hawks that were wilting due to the fact they had one less fit player on the bench.
For 34-year-old Crawford the result was simply a fairytale as he finally tasted premiership success in his 305th AFL game - the longest wait of any player in the game's history.
Crawford had come into the match as the only Hawthorn player on the club's top 17 on its all-time games played list without a flag but the 1999 Brownlow Medalist can now deservedly take his place among the club's greats such as Michael Tuck, Leigh Matthews, Don Scott, Dermott Brereton and Robert Dipierdomenico as a premiership winner.
The win - Hawthorn's 10th premiership in just 47 years but their first in 17 years - continues the club's incredible hold over Geelong in finals with the Cats still not having beaten the Hawks in September since the 1963 grand final.
But on Saturday it was more like the Hawks' famous 1989 grand final success over the Cats with the match getting off to an electrifying start when both teams booted five goals in one of the best first quarters in recent grand final history.
However, it was in the second quarter when the Cats threw away the premiership and equally when the Hawks began to believe that they might just be capable of pulling off a miracle.
The Cats, who had star midfielders Gary Ablett, Joel Selwood, Corey Enright and Joel Corey rack up at least 10 possessions in the first term alone, continued to win the bulk of the ball in the second quarter but simply could not capitalise on their dominance.
Much-vaunted centre half forward Cameron Mooney was one of the worst offenders and his miss on the edge of the goalsquare right on the half-time siren left the Cats trailing by three points at half-time.
This was despite Geelong having enjoyed 35 more possessions to half-time, 12 more forward entries and having had 18 scoring shots to just 11 for the Hawks.
In contrast the Hawks took every opportunity that came their way despite star spearhead Lance Franklin struggling to escape the close attention of the Cats champion Matthew Scarlett.
And when Mooney hit the post again in the first minute of the third term you sensed it was just not going to be the Cats' day as their forward line was offering little with Tom Lonergan and Travis Varcoe - two of four changes to the club's premiership team of the previous year - struggling to get into the game.
Just as Adelaide took full advantage of North Melbourne's inaccuracy in 1998 after the Roos had dominated the first half, so it would be on Saturday as the Hawks and their thousands of passionate fans were sent into dreamland in a magnificent third quarter that has added another chapter into this remarkable club's history of triumphs in September.
After Ablett, easily Geelong's best player, goaled at the six-minute mark to regain the lead for the Cats - after a run of 1.11 since quarter-time - the Hawks took control once Franklin booted his first goal at the eight-minute mark to regain the lead.
It was then that Hodge lifted the Hawks with a sensational goal on the run from 55 metres. Enter Stuart Dew.
The 29-year-old, the only Hawks player with previous grand final experience having won with Port in 2004, showed why his new club lured him out of a short-lived retirement at the start of this season by then booting two goals and setting up another for small forward Mark Williams as the Hawks slammed on four straight goals to open up a 29-point lead.
Not even two late goals just before the last change to Darren Milburn and Steve Johnson - which reduced the margin to 17 points at the last change - could halt the Hawks' momentum.
The final quarter was unbelievably tense as the crowd almost sensed an inevitable Geelong comeback but instead it was the Hawks that got the all-important first goal when Franklin booted his second after playing on after marking 50 metres out at the 12-minute mark.
And when skipper Sam Mitchell - otherwise well-beaten by Cameron Ling - goaled two minutes later at the 14-minute mark, the Hawks were 27 points up and one of the biggest upset wins in grand final history was all but complete.
GEELONG: 5.3. 6.12, 9.18, 11.23 (89)
HAWTHORN: 5.2, 8.3, 14.5, 18.7 (115)
GOALS: Geelong: Mooney 2, Rooke 2, Ablett 2, Lonergan 2, Chapman, Milburn, S Johnson
Hawthorn: Williams 3, Rioli 2, Dew 2, Franklin 2, Roughead 2, Hodge, Bateman, Ellis, Brown, Young, Mitchell, Ladson
BEST: Geelong: Ablett, Selwood, Ling, S Johnson, Enright, Scarlett
Hawthorn: Hodge, Crawford, Ellis, Sewell, Dew, Guerra, Rioli
INJURIES: Geelong: Harley (concussion)
Hawthorn: Croad (foot), Young (ankle)
UMPIRES: Ryan, McLaren, Vozzo
REPORTS: Nil
CHANGES: Nil
CROWD: 100,012 at MCG