Faced with an impossible task – to cheer loudly enough to be a heard by a man who had removed himself from hearing distance – Sydney Swans fans could not have done any more on Saturday afternoon.

For 37 seconds before the first bounce, the Sydney Cricket Ground pulsed with emotion during one of the more moving episodes in the storied ground's history.

In tribute to their missing champion, the Swans had arranged for 37 pictures of  Adam Goodes to be flashed on the sightscreen, the penultimate of which was that powerful image of Goodes brandishing an imagined spear. The cheer, which had been building throughout the countdown,  reached a crescendo. Everyone, it seemed, wanted to communicate their regard for a man who had sought to highlight one of the nation's ills, and been victimised for it.

A similar cheer came at the seventh minute of the third quarter, when the crowd – Swans and Adelaide Crows' fans alike – stood to chant Goodes' name.

"I think if everyone cheers loud enough, he will feel it and he will see it," said Michael Bark, a long-time Swans member, immediately before the bounce. "And you know what, I think everyone feels it."

Prior to and during  yesterday's game, which Sydney won by 52 points, this was a common refrain among Swans fans, and those supporting the Crows.

They wanted to let Goodes, the subject of polarising boos that have been attributed to racial prejudice, know they were behind him.

It was a mood that echoed around the football world.

At the MCG, the spiritual home of the sport, Melbourne captain Nathan Jones kicked a late goal in an emphatic victory over Collingwood and immediately held his arms aloft and pointed to a wristband, in the colours of the Indigenous flag, that he and his teammates had worn all day. On Saturday night at Etihad Stadium, North Melbourne's Lindsay Thomas celebrated scoring by pointing to a tattoo of the Aboriginal flag on his chest.

It followed Richmond's players wearing their Indigenous guernseys the night before, in defeating reigning premiers Hawthorn.

Back at the SCG, Bark's sister, Stacey, carried a Fairfax Media poster in support of Goodes onto the field with her as she helped form a guard of honour for the Swans with other 20-year members.  Many other fans had created their own makeshift tributes to the two-time Brownlow medallist.

"The support today will be earth-shattering, and I hope he hears it wherever he is," said Sean Peter, arriving about two hours before the first bounce.

David McGonigal helped hand out T-shirts emblazoned with a white 37 on red background that were gone well before the start of play. He said: "The one thing I really hope comes through the TV if Adam is at home watching is how loved he is."

But there were also stronger emotions; many wanted to talk about the furore that embroiled the Swans champion.

"I'm really pissed off," said Lesley Tipping, who, with Sean Peter, had arrived with a sign declaring their respect and support for Goodes. "It's made me extremely angry.

"We want to raise our children to think that Australians are inclusive, and it is just uncalled for."

And the feelings were not confined to Swans fans. Rebecca Vavic complemented her Adelaide Crows scarf and jersey with a "We Love Adam Goodes" sign.

"As a white Australian, I am ashamed at our behaviour – how we are treating our Indigenous population," said Vavic, from Canberra. "I'm making a stand not just about how Adam Goodes is being treated but about how we treat our Indigenous culture – it should be something we are proud of."

Inside the ground, Chris Bonney, a Narrunga man from South Australia, was moved to attend a Crows game by the events of the week.

"To be very honest, I'm a Port Power fan, but I'm here to support my brother," Bonney said.

But Bonney, who said the booing of Goodes had served to highlight racism in the country, said some good could come of the game's exposure. "I think today is going to be a watershed for great changes in our country," he said.

"This whole week, a lot of people have been very emotional and very upset – Indigenous people and non-Indigenous people. Everyone's felt it, and everyone's talking about it.

"But it is finally now that we as a nation are going: 'You know what? There is something there and we are going to say no."'

When the game began, the start could not have been more perfect. Lewis Jetta, the other Swan to have risked the outrage of the easily offended by dancing with a spear that wasn't there, kicked the first goal within a minute - and celebrated with a dance. And nobody bothered to boo Adelaide.

That's the start the @sydneyswans needed, thanks to Lewis Jetta #AFLSwansCrows http://t.co/DojbU2FZ5G

— AFL (@AFL) August 1, 2015