Thank you!

To Tim Tebow and the Florida Gator Senior Class:

Thank you. Two simple words. Two simple words that cannot come close to expressing the gratitude felt by the Gator Nation; gratitude for the wild ride you've taken us on the past four years, gratitude for accomplishing more than we ever expected. You committed to play for the University of Florida during the first year of a young, unproven coach's tenure in the toughest conference in the nation. But you believed. You believed the coach who told you that you could be a part of something special. You believed the coach who told you he was going to turn the University of Florida into the envy of the college football universe.

Four years later, you leave as the winningest class in SEC history. You not only leave with tangible symbols of two conference championships and two national titles, but also with the love of a fan base that will continue to support you in the NFL or whatever path you choose to pursue. You might leave the University of Florida, but the University of Florida will never leave you.

You might have seen the most recent ad campaign from the university asking "when did you become a Gator?" Five or ten years from now, freshman at UF will answer that it was one night in the desert or that cool January night in Miami. Perhaps it was when a quarterback made a promise to a nation or when he decided that playing one more year in The Swamp meant more than draft status.

As a team, you have dealt with unimaginable expectations placed upon you by not only the media, but by your own fans. And you performed with grit and determination. For the past four years, you've taken an incredible journey and you've welcomed us along for the ride. Thank you, seniors, for showing the rest of the country what we've known all along: it's great to be a Florida Gator!