FSU football players from Central Florida happy to spend Christmas in Orlando

With a practice scheduled for this morning in preparation for Thursday's Champs Sports Bowl, Florida State's football players and coaches didn't have the luxury of spending Christmas at home with family and friends.

Well, most of them didn't.

A handful of Florida State players from Central Florida admitted they were ecstatic when they learned they would be spending the holidays in Orlando.

Junior linebacker Vince Williams, who grew up in nearby Davenport, said the only better destination would have been a BCS bowl. But once that was out of the question, Williams said he started rooting openly for the Champs ? even when the more prestigious Chick-fil-A Bowl was still in play.

If Virginia Tech had defeated Clemson in the ACC Championship game, there was a chance FSU could have been sent to Atlanta for the second consecutive year.

"I was like, 'Man, I hope Clemson kills Virginia Tech. I do not want to be in Atlanta,'?" Williams said, laughing. "It's cold up there."

Of course, the Chick-fil-A Bowl is played indoors at the Georgia Dome, but Williams had bad memories of practicing in the elements.

"I'm like, 'I want to go home and see my family and play in this warm weather,'?" Williams said. "When we were in Atlanta last year, it was snowing at practice. I'm a Florida boy. I don't even like snow. I was like, 'I don't want to do that no more.' It's like Miami or bust, now."

Williams got his wish, of course. Clemson beat Virginia Tech, and the Seminoles got shipped to Orlando, where the temperatures will be in the 70s this week.

Florida State's players reported to the Orlando Hilton for a team meeting Saturday, and they will practice today, Monday and Tuesday to simulate their normal Tuesday-through-Thursday game preparation.

Because Orlando is centrally located for most of Florida State's players, FSU coach Jimbo Fisher allowed them to make their own travel arrangements.

"We've got so many guys (from Florida), it's easier," Fisher said. "If we were (in a bowl game) farther off, I like going as a team."

That suited many of the Seminoles, such as Tampa's Christian Green, just fine.

"That's definitely good ? spend time with some of my family and stuff like that," said Green, a redshirt freshman receiver. "And some of my family will be able to come to the game. That's always good, to be close to home."

Source: http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20111225/FSU03/112250330/1103/RSS18

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