Pre-February 2011 they were an immovable force atop the Super Rugby tree, winning seven titles and establishing themselves as the competition's first franchise dynasty.
When the earth moved in 2011, the Crusaders became a travelling roadshow who won their way to the Super Rugby final despite playing their home games in places like Nelson and London. They were held up as a symbol of the city's resilience.
Now, in 2017, after several winters of title-less discontent, this version of the team under new, heart-on-his-sleeve coach Scott 'Razor' Robertson is cast in a different role, as an emblem, perhaps, of the city's rebirth.
If that's the case, there's a building that remains as a reminder of what once was.
There's a certain romance, to these eyes at least, about old stadia. Standing on the old sites of places like Carisbrook, Athletic Park and Carlaw Park can provide a dose of nostalgia as you try to picture the terraces full and the crowd buzzing.
For the past six years, I'd never been tempted to do the same at Lancaster Park when visiting Christchurch. In truth, it wasn't the world's loveliest venue. The playing field was too small for cricket and the stands too large, and night rugby and the stadium never seemed easy bedfellows. The walk from the CBD to its city-fringe locale was featureless and too long to be convenient.
But that wasn't the reason for staying away.
It just felt a little ghoulish; knowing how many happy days and nights Cantabrians had enjoyed at Lancaster Park, picking through the bones of the old stadium seemed a bit too much like misery porn.
From a distance, too, the stadium, though unused, seemed to retain a shred of dignity, standing tall over the low-slung, semi-industrial streets that surrounded it. As you approach the ground, however, past the crumbling Catholic Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament and into an enclave of car yards, spare parts and auto shops, you realise just how derelict it has become.
Graffiti stains the relatively new east and west stands and the demolition of the Hadlee Stand allows you to look from the north end onto a field of thigh-high weeds.
Nick Elvy drives past the stadium a couple of times a day. He's the general manager of Paul Kelly Motors, who played a huge financial role in the refit of the stadium and who name still sadly emblazons the west stand.
"It's always sad to see it in the state it's in, but it's one of those things I guess. You've got to move forward," he says.
"It's unfortunate but you go into the centre of Christchurch and it's the same thing. When you've grown up and lived all your life here the state of the CBD tugs on the heartstrings even more to be fair. Unfortunately you do become immune to it. It becomes the norm."
Elvy believes the greater Canterbury region needs another facility of a similar scale to Lancaster Park. The reason the All Blacks are not playing the lions here is due in large part to the fact that even with the addition of temporary seating, the Addington-based AMI Stadium can hold much less than half the capacity of Eden Park.
Yeah, the All Blacks would have been nice but this Crusaders outfit, led by a 42-year-old coach who is not too proud to breakdance when he feels the need, who are driven around the park by eight All Blacks, and who are coming off 14 straight victories - the last courtesy of an improbable last-gasp dropkick, are not a bad consolation prize.
There is something a little bit special about this Crusaders team and there is a feeling, articulated best by the confident cabbie, that their team are going to give locals plenty to feel good about tonight makeshift stadium or not.
