Chippewas Get to Work in the Bahamas
12/21/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
By Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
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NASSAU, Bahamas - Some work, some play.
The first full day in the Caribbean for the Central Michigan football team began with business as the Chippewas went through their paces during a morning workout at Thomas A. Robinson Stadium, site of the inaugural Popeyes Bahamas Bowl.
The temperature was in the low 70s under sunny skies with a slight breeze, just enough to keep the players from overheating. The Chippewas were on the field at 9 a.m. and off two hours later.
"I think it was a great practice, honestly," Chippewa senior guard Andy Phillips said. "It was like we didn't leave Mount Pleasant type of practice. It's beautiful out here and there are a lot of distractions, but our guys locked in and focused really hard. It was a good practice for us."
The Chippewas will take on Western Kentucky in the inaugural Popeyes Bahamas Bowl on Christmas Eve. The game kicks off at noon and will be carried live by ESPN.
"Felt great to get out here," quarterback Cooper Rush said as he stood on the Robinson playing surface. "We're looking around seeing palm trees while we're practicing. We're just happy to be here and we're enjoying every minute of it.
"It was a real sharp practice today. It was about our 10th one of bowl camp, the game plan's all in, so we're just repping it up and we were real sharp considering all the traveling and stuff. It was a good practice."
The afternoon was filled with the many nautical-themed activities at the magnificent Atlantis Resort, the Chippewas' home for the week. Late afternoon brought a beach bash featuring myriad physical activities, such as volleyball, horseshoes, football toss, Frisbee throw, soccer and pickleball, among others, all on the resort's white-sand beach.
The event was attended by players from both CMU and Western Kentucky, along with several members of both teams' traveling parties.
One in attendance was Plas Presnell, who retired after last season after 31 years with the Chippewa football program.
Presnell, who has been to every bowl game CMU has ever played, stood on the beach during the bash, and said this bowl trip is unmatched in terms of "the weather, the amenities, the accomodations, where we are.
"It's very well organized and there's plenty of time for the players to enjoy it. That's what I see. They're very excited and they're very deserving. Everything's been great. The players, they're having a blast. I think everybody in the MAC is probably jealous of us."
Senior tight end Mike Kinville said the excitement the Chippewas displayed during the bowl announcement two weeks ago, the one famously captured on video which is up to more than 540,000 hits on Youtube, has been validated in the 24 hours that the group has been on the island.
"It's living up to the hype," Kinville said as he observed teammates playing pickleball, a game with its roots in tennis, on the beach. "It's been incredible. Something I'll be able to keep with me for the rest of my life. Great time, great experience. It's exciting that this is the first bowl game here and we get to be a part of it."
Perhaps the highlight of the first full day was the opportunity for eight players -- four from CMU, four from Western Kentucky -- to swim with dolphins in the Atlantic Ocean.
"The one I liked best was when the dolphin was singing and dancing at the same time," said senior Deon Butler, who joined teammates Jabari Dean, Kevin Henry and Jason Wilson in the endeavor. "The dolphins showed us what they had. We picked up the dolphin and we got a lesson about them, about how you can tell a female from a male, how they have babies.
"They did handshakes with us. They were jumping in the air and doing flips. It was amazing to see. And we learned that dolphins feed off energy. At the end, we were supposed to take pictures, but they swam away. Guess they have their ups and downs.
"You always see it in the movies or on a commercial, I didn't actually think I'd ever touch a dolphin, or swim with them, watch them talk.
"And to have the same experience with guys from Western Kentucky. Guys from both teams combined and we all had a good time. To interact with the Western Kentucky guys -- they're human like us. I think that's the best part about it."
