The take-home message in all of this is that the University of Florida becomes a part of you, and it's really, really hard to let it go. Sure, you can think about leaving but doing it is a different story.

We now have two coaches who tried to leave and then realized they couldn't actually do it. We have another who did leave and would have happily come back a few years later. We have players (the 04s, Tebow, Spikes, etc.) who were widely expected to leave and who seriously considered it and then realized that UF was the place for them. We have players who have finished their pro careers and have then come back to live in Gainesville, because they love being a part of the UF community.

For folks who aren't Gators, there has to be at least a little twinge of curiosity about what makes UF so special. It's not something we can explain adequately or really even put into words at all. It just is.

Recruits have to see this and wonder, too. What is it about this place that kids just a few years older than I am are willing to forgo millions of dollars to hang around one more year?! They know it's something special and they want to be a part of it.

The Gator Nation is real, it's everywhere, and its draw is more powerful than you might think.