Suns brighten travels for fans at Sky Harbor
Travelers at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport got a surprise Thursday afternoon when members of the Phoenix Suns team walked through Gate D8 in Terminal 4.
Five current and two former Suns players traded places with Southwest Airlines employees. They made boarding announcements, checked in travelers for flights and even learned to marshal an airplane to its gate.
It all was part of the Suns’ annual event in partnership with Southwest Airlines. Passengers took out their phones to capture the moment.
Those included a few Chicagoans who had no idea who the players were, but welcomed the excitement as they sat through a nine-hour delay.
“They made our day,” said Alberteen Brown.
She and her friends, who were in town for a conference, snapped photos and uploaded them to Facebook.
Basketball fans were excited to see the local stars, snapping selfies with forward Mikal Bridges and point guard
Élie Okobo.
Passengers arriving from Kansas City saw a familiar face in former Kansas Jayhawk Kelly Oubre Jr.
“Welcome to Phoenix,” Oubre them.
Several fans wearing Kansas gear replied told with a “Rock Chalk,” a traditional Jayhawk chant, when they saw who was greeting them. And then, naturally, they asked for a photo.
“It was all love,” Oubre said of the fans. “Even the Mizzou fans showed me love. That’s kind of a thing out there. I was just happy to make people smile.”
This was Oubre’s first experience working at an airport. He gave his performance a 10 out of 10.
“I’ve been a traveler my whole life, so to be able to be on the other side of how things operate, I don’t take it for granted, so I’m trying to give it my all,” he said.
Oubre added it was important for fans to be able to see them as regular people, not sports stars.
“It’s pretty cool the impact we have on a lot of people when they see us for the first time in person, not on a TV screen or on the court,” he said. “It’s definitely a blessing to be here.”