It struck me early on during his Monday press conference.

So much so that I had to double back and ask about it a few minutes later.

Mike Norvell spoke so passionately about this week, about this game, about this rivalry, that I wanted to know exactly why he was so fired up.

That might seem like a dumb sentence, so let me explain.

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Yes, it's Florida State-Florida week. It's a great rivalry — one of the best, most fierce in the country. And yes, WE understand that. But Mike Norvell didn't necessarily grow up with Florida State football. Not up close and personal anyway.

He has been here less than two years. He came from Memphis. And before that, he was out in the desert with the Gila monsters.

Arizona-Arizona State isn't the same thing as Florida State-Florida. Not even close.

So, I wondered where all this passion was coming from.

In this modern era of college football, when coaches — and now players — are switching schools every couple of years, you wonder how much a game like this can mean to someone who hasn't lived it, who hasn't been born into it, indoctrinated into the hatred that comes when the Seminoles and Gators meet on a football field.

It's why you get so many coaches who just talk about "faceless opponents." The other sideline doesn't matter, it's all about yourself and what you do. They don't want to stoke the flames of a rivalry because to them, it's just another game. They know it means a lot to the fans, sure, but so many coaches these days feel like outsiders when it comes to the actual passion of a rivalry.

They can feel like mercenaries who are here to do a job, get a check, and hopefully win some games and change some lives in the process. But to them, Florida is no different than Syracuse or North Carolina.

How thankful we should all be that Mike Norvell isn't one of those coaches.

He gets, beyond a shadow of a doubt, how important these games are.

He admitted earlier this week that when fall camp starts there are two games he brings up to his players before the first practice.

"Miami and this one," Norvell said.

As a side note, he said "this one" or "this game" or "this opponent" multiple times this week when talking about Saturday's showdown. I haven't checked all the tapes, but as far as I can recall, the words "Florida" or "Gators" haven't crept out of his mouth all week.

This isn't an original idea, of course. There are plenty of examples of head coaches not saying the name of their rivals: Legendary Ohio State coach Woody Hayes would never say "Michigan," Urban Meyer would never say "Florida State," Jimbo Fisher would never say, "Hey, what's up, Ira? Good to see you, man!"

Speaking of Fisher, though.

One of the things he did exceptionally well as the head coach at Florida State was beat his rivals. He did it over and over and over again.

He lost to Florida once. In 2012.

He lost to Miami once. In 2017.

That's it. All of the rest were wins.

Fisher knew how important these rivalry games were because, in a way, he lived them. He was so close to the Bowden family as a quarterback at Samford, playing for Terry, that he knew firsthand what it meant when the Seminoles beat the Gators.

He knew, before ever coaching a second at FSU, what this rivalry was all about.

It would appear the new guy does, too. That's mighty comforting for us longtime college football fans.

As the sport inches closer and closer every day to the NFL -- with free agency (transfer portal), NIL deals, astronomical coaching salaries and talk of a 12-team playoff -- the only real difference remaining between the two sports might end up being the passion of these rivalry games.

You can tell me the NFL has rivalries, too. But man, if you're trying to convince me that Green Bay-Chicago or New Orleans-Atlanta is the same thing as Auburn-Alabama or FSU-Florida, I can promise you I don't believe you. I will never believe you.

One of the last bastions of the sport I loved so much from my childhood is the passion of this game. At the end of the year. After Thanksgiving.

The FSU-Florida game is a ritual, a game that will always mean something. No matter the records. No matter if a championship is on the line or not.

This isn't a faceless opponent. It's the Florida Gators. And Mike Norvell certainly seems to get just how much this game means to all of us. On both sides of the rivalry.

So, with that in mind, let's wrap this up with the answer he gave on Monday about what's at stake on Saturday.

You might have read it already. You might have seen the video. But it deserves one last look as we head into Florida State-Florida.

"I know what this game means," Norvell said. "And if you don't get up for this one, then go somewhere else. Go do something else. Because it is not for you.

"But you watch the history, you watch the tradition, you know what it means to the university, you know what it means to the fan base. This is why you play! This is why you coach! And it's to get guys [ready] for this moment. Everything we've done up to this point has prepared us. We'll either take advantage of it. Or we won't."

Contact senior writer Corey Clark at corey@warchant.com and follow @Corey_Clark on Twitter.

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Talk about this story with other Florida State football fans in the Tribal Council