Hey Riot, be honest, did Garens villain mechanic start out as a joke?

I had to ask. When i 1st read the Garen changes i thought "no way this wasnt a joke at 1st". did somebody think of it as a joke and it just kinda escalated from there into what it is now? I really do like the idea, it just screams "we were stuck and screwing around with ideas and made it legit"

(Note: im not going after anybody here. as a said before I like the idea but when i 1st read it mainly the word villain made me think it was originally a joke)