The Cats are savouring their third premiership in five years after yesterday's 38-point win against Collingwood at the MCG.
Fans are already streaming into Kardinia Park for the club's supporters' day, with around 2,000 supporters currently braving chilly conditions.
Geelong fan Christine Donaldson says it is "absolutely the best thing" for the regional Victorian city.
Avid fans began taking over Geelong late yesterday - beeping horns, hanging out of car windows and brandishing blue and white flags - as they celebrated the side's win.
But the celebrations were not confined to Geelong.
Cats fans celebrating at Melbourne's Federation Square last night were not just jubilant with the victory, but the way they had achieved it.
"We beat the Pies three times this year. We are true champions," said one fan.
"To beat Collingwood is really something, it's like pushing a herd of elephants over a cliff. You're up against not just Collingwood but the media, the AFL, everything," said another.
As the only AFL club representing a regional city, the relationship between the Cats players and their fan base is a unique one.
Almost all of the playing group live in the area, with many such as skipper Cameron Ling and Norm Smith medallist Jimmy Bartel Geelong born-and-bred.
The Cats had heroes aplenty, none more so than Steve Johnson, who defied what looked like a serious knee injury last week to boot four goals.
To the joy of thousands of jubilant Cats fans, the triumph meant coach Chris Scott had guided his team to a flag at his first attempt.
Collingwood had hoped to go back to back for the first time in 75 years and at times looked like it would with the lead changing 10 times before three-quarter time.
But a fired-up Cats team with destiny on its mind dominated the final quarter to claim the premiership spoils and Cats champion Jimmy Bartel, who starred all day, was awarded the Norm Smith Medal.
Collingwood captain Nick Maxwell apologised to the club's supporters after the match.
"Sorry," Maxwell said. "We let you down, but I promise we'll be back next year."
Courageous Cats forward Steve Johnson - in doubt all week with a knee injury - played a starring role.
The Cats' hopes of victory seemingly took a hit when star forward James Podsiadly was substituted out with a shoulder injury in the second quarter.
His departure put in doubt the mature-aged recruit's hopes of winning a flag two years after being Geelong's warm-up coach.
But with the big man carried off, Tom Hawkins stepped up and the Cats delivered a barnstorming final quarter and turned a seven-point three-quarter time lead into a match-winning advantage.
"I'm in a bit of pain, but I'm on cloud nine," an elated Podsiadly said afterwards.
Ponchos, raincoats and winter scarves were the order of the day as the heavens opened for hours in the lead-up to the match and the temperature didn't top 13.5C.
The downpour cleared in time for the national anthem and opening bounce, but by then it was all about the football, not the weather.
The now famous chant of "Gee-long" roared around the stadium by the 20th minute of the final quarter and Cats fans danced in delight as shattered Pies fans started to leave the ground.
It was a heartbreaking end for Collingwood coach Mick Malthouse, who led the Pies for the last time before handing the reins to club great Nathan Buckley.
"I can see their (the players') faces and I know they're disappointed but I can't get my head around it," Malthouse said. "I feel bitterly disappointed that we let our club down, that we let our supporters down."
Aussie soccer hero Harry Kewell and singer Brian McFadden were among a throng of VIPs in yesterday's crowd, along with Prime Minister Julia Gillard and the Geelong-supporting Premier Ted Baillieu.
Police praised crowd behaviour, with only 27 people ejected from the MCG by police and security, mostly related to poor behaviour. Six arrested for public drunkenness.
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