As
the team bus rolled past TD Ameritrade Stadium toward the Gators' hotel a couple
of blocks away, workers were busy hanging a huge
"Florida Gators" banner on the stadium along Cuming Street.
A few
minutes later the Gators received a red-carpet greeting at their hotel. The
carpet was lined with more Gators.
These
were the Memorial Gators from the Omaha Little League, part of the welcoming
party that greeted Florida in its third consecutive trip to Omaha.
"We
are glad to be back and we're ready to go,'' Florida catcher Mike Zunino said. "This is a
special place and we've worked hard to get back here over the last year."
The
No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, the Gators earned a trip back to
Omaha with a 9-8 win in extra innings over N.C. State on Sunday in the NCAA
Gainesville Regional.
The
Gators (47-18) face SEC rival South Carolina (45-17) on Saturday night (9 p.m.
ET, ESPN) in a rematch of last year's CWS Championship Series.
The
Gamecocks won both games to win their second consecutive national title.
The
Gators spent Wednesday traveling to Omaha and will participate in a press
conference Thursday morning, followed by practice and an autograph session at
TD Ameritrade Park.
The
Gators will then have a team barbecue before attending the CWS Opening
Ceremonies, one of the year's highlights from the city of Omaha.
"You
can just tell the whole city embraces the College World Series,'' Gators senior
pitcher Greg Larson said. "The environment is
awesome. It's just a great atmosphere."
While
the players are looking forward to the pageantry of Thursday's events, they
also have some unfinished business in the quest of the program's first national
title.
"We
want to get it done,'' Larson said.
Junior
pitcher/designated hitter Brian Johnson has never experienced a season that
didn't end with a trip to Omaha.
Johnson
said he feels good about the way this year's team is playing as it unpacked
here for what the Gators hope is a two-week stay.
"We're
playing as a team,'' Johnson said. "We're picking
each other up. When somebody doesn't have a great at-bat the next person does.
I think we're really putting it together."
As
for all the hoopla off the field, Johnson isn't too concerned about any
distractions popping up for the younger players like freshmen starters Josh
Tobias, Justin Shafer and Casey Turgeon.
"All
the older guys are trying to coach the young guys up on what to expect,'' he
said.
