Well.   I have loved and cheered for my Gators over the years with a true passion and am as into it all as anyone I've ever met.  My wife, my little girls, my parents, my brothers and my friends all know that it has a hold on me.  Just as it does for so many others here and elsewhere.   I always had the admittedly naive feeling that the Gators were different than the others and that I really was lucky to be a Gator and to have our various teams and coaches to root for over the years.  At the same time, I have always been facinated at how much enjoyment I get from people I have never met playing sports at a level I could never come close to attaining.  Yes, I am an alum and have that special pride - that invested feeling.  But I've still been kind of facinated at how we humans act regarding these things.

Having said all that, in all my adult years watching my teams, true tears have only come twice.  The first was when the Sox won the World Series.  Those tears were very much tied up in family history, the last vestiges of childhood romance and my love for my grandfathers.  The second time was today.  I honestly have that feeling you get when you have to tell a loved one goodbye.  And I've never even met a one of them.  But I've read and watched all there is to read and watch.   These four kids were so good.  So joyous. So honorable.  So close to each other.  They epitomized what it means to be a team. 

The ideal team is like a family.  And they were the ideal team.   Making it to that place, where "All for one and one for all" is a reality and not just a corny thing kids say, is so rare in this day and age.  These kids became the only perfect team  I've ever seen or even  heard of.  No bad apples.  All playing for something greater than themselves.  Actually playing for each other.  And led by a true leader, a family man who knows what it's like to lose family.  A man who really is as honorable and humble as he is talented.  What a rare and exquisite find!  And we have been blessed to witness it.

So there is a lump in my throat tonight and if that makes me a sap, so be it.   The next time you raise a glass in the air in toast, toast to Billy and Al and Joakim and Corey and Hump and Taurean and Chris and the boys who supported them and have the ultimate challenge of filling their shoes. 

Toast to our team.  Our perfect team.