  We show how recent angle resolved photoemission measurements addressing the
Fermi arcs in the cuprates reveal a very natural phenomenological description
of the complex superfluid phase. Importantly, this phenomenology is consistent
with a previously presented microscopic theory. By distinguishing the order
parameter and the excitation gap, we are able to demonstrate how the collapse
of the arcs below $T_c$ into well defined nodes is associated with the
\emph{smooth} emergence of superconducting coherence. Comparison of this theory
with experiment shows good semi-quantitative agreement.
