HE WHO paid the piper so lavishly is starting to call the tune. But is it our tune, or merely an advertising jingle?

Channel Ten will make it seem as if a twilight grand final was inevitable, irresistible, history taking its course. In time, it will lobby to move it into the night proper, and again paint this as the tide of history.

It will allude to all the major sports events around the world that have their finales under lights. But are there so many? Last weekend's FA Cup was, as usual, a day event. Last year's soccer World Cup final was played late, but in the European summer, in natural light. This year's cricket World Cup final was played at night, but that was an accident.

At home, which of Melbourne's iconic sporting events is held in the gloaming? Not the Melbourne Cup. Not the cricket on Boxing Day. Not the grand prix, not yet. If it is staged under lights from next year, it will only be to save it from falling into the clutches of Singapore. The grand final faces no such threat.

The Australian Open men's final is now played at night, at least partly to do with the international television audience. The grand final is peculiarly an Australian event.

Grand final day follows a ritual. It begins with formal breakfasts, from whence the anticipation begins to build. Lunch follows for some, the undercard at the MCG for others. All the while, the suspense grows. The big match is played, the cup presented, usually at dusk, imbuing the moment with an epic quality.

It leaves the rest of the night for celebrations, commiserations, reflections and renewals of faith, at bar or barbecue. The balance is right. Moving the match into the evening would draw out the anticipation and rush the aftermath. It would squeeze the schedule unduly. A night finale in any sport tends to come to an abrupt end.

And make no mistake, just as twilight is but a moment on the way to night, so will the grand final soon enough become an after-dark happening. This will enhance the television spectacle. It will leverage the advertising dollar. It will suit the telecast and the telecaster fine. But will it suit the fan?

It is a lame question. Television has paid up; now it wants its pound of flesh. Channel Seven has bought rights, among them evidently the right not to show a single match live. Commercial radio has bought rights, marginalising the ABC, notwithstanding that it leads the ratings and more than any other media takes the game to every part of the country.

Television owns the telecast rights, and will exercise them. AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou always has maintained an "over my dead body" attitude to moving the grand final away from the day. Perhaps he should be examined today for mortal wounds.

Much good has transpired in the game latterly. The AFL is as slick as any organisation in the world at putting on a show. But that does not mean that it can do no wrong. Not all change is improvement, not all advance is progress. This latest proposal needs to be looked at more closely in the cold, hard light of day.