Game 5: Are you in or are you out?

It will not do us any good to breakdown why Florida lost Saturday night 31-6 at Alabama. At least not when we're still fairly upset. 

What I did notice, through twitter, facebook and personal experience in a South Tampa restaurant, was supposed Gators fans quitting on the team. I'm sorry this team of young guys and new starters won't go undefeated and happened to lose a road game against a team that is 31-2 in the last three seasons. Maybe in video games, teams can lose their quarterback, top two receivers, defensive ends and linebackers, and go undefeated the next season. In real life, that doesn't happen.

As a fan, you have to decide if you are in or out. If you like everything to be sunshine and lollipops, get off now. I'm sure you'll be back when UF rolls LSU next week. Or maybe you'll be back when Florida wins the SEC East and faces Alabama again. There is nothing wrong with you quitting on the team. I mean, you're a terrible person and all of that, but this is just quitting on a football team. No big deal.

The rest of us, in between cursing Steve Addazio and realizing that Trey Burton really isn't a quarterback, will stick with the kids. That is what fans do, even in the face of a 25-point road loss. We also remember Chris Leak getting lit up at Alabama like John Brantley did last night. We also understand that one loss won't end the season. Instead, one loss can lead to short term and long term success. 

If you came away from last night's game with a thought other than, "We're running the table and playing these guys again," I'm sorry you have no faith in the Gators. This is a young team that walked into a hostile crowd and was overwhelmed. On one side of the ball, their coaches failed them. But the kids are alright. It would be nice if all their fans knew that.