Cardinals become first professional sports team to fly athletes, coaches to Special Olympics

The Arizona Cardinals flew more than 140 athletes and coaches from Phoenix to Minneapolis Friday morning to compete in the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games.

The airlift marked the first time a professional sports team offered its team plane, the Cardinals’ Boeing 777-200ER, to transport the Special Olympians.

“I am so excited … when I told my family about it, they said, ‘You’re lucky, Bri.’ I totally am lucky,” Special Olympian Brianna Sanchez said in a video shared by the Cardinals. “I’m a competitive cheerleader. We’re gonna do our best … let’s go! USA Games here we come.”

The Special Olympics Airlift has transported more than 10,000 athletes and coaches to the annual event for almost 40 years, but Friday marked the first time all the athletes and coaches could fly together as one because of the widebody aircraft.

The Special Olympians received a ceremonial water salute and welcome upon arriving in Minneapolis and were accompanied by Cardinals cheerleaders and team mascot Big Red during their send-off.

The special needs community is a pillar of the Arizona Cardinals Foundation — Special Olympics Arizona was one of the four primary recipients of the $2 million raised through the inaugural “Cardinals Climb” earlier this year.

A fun fact about the airlift — it is titled “DOVE777” because it slightly differs from the traditional Cessna, Beechcraft and Hawker aircrafts that define the airlift, a news release said. These transport aircrafts are called “Doves” to symbolize peace.

The Special Olympians are scheduled to return to Arizona on Saturday, June 27.

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