Members of Team Louisiana are greeted as they arrive in Lincoln for the 2010 Special Olympics on Saturday, July 17, 2010. (JACOB HANNAH / Lincoln Journal Star)
JACOB HANNAH
Special Olympics fly-in
Special Olympics athletes are greeted as they step off the plane during the 2010 Special Olympics airlift on Saturday, July 17, 2010. (JACOB HANNAH / Lincoln Journal Star)
JACOB HANNAH
Harrison Ford arrives in Lincoln
Harrison Ford, actor and honorary chairperson of the Special Olympics airlift, departs after speaking to the media at the Lincoln Airport on Saturday, July 17, 2010. (GWYNETH ROBERTS / Lincoln Journal Star)
Gwyneth Roberts
Harrison Ford arrives in Lincoln
Harrison Ford is greeted as he exits his plane after shuttling a group of athletes to Lincoln for the 2010 Special Olympics on Saturday, July 17, 2010. (JACOB HANNAH / Lincoln Journal Star)
JACOB HANNAH
Harrison Ford arrives in Lincoln
Harrison Ford, actor and honorary chairperson of the Special Olympics airlift, departs the plane he piloted with Team New Mexico athletes as passengers, at the Lincoln Airport, on Saturday, July 17, 2010. (GWYNETH ROBERTS / Lincoln Journal Star)
Gwyneth Roberts
Special Olympics fly-in
Members of Team Minnesota arrive in Lincoln for the 2010 Special Olympics during the fly-in on Saturday, July 17, 2010. (JACOB HANNAH / Lincoln Journal Star)
JACOB HANNAH
Special Olympics fly-in
Special Olympics athletes are cheered on as they arrive in Lincoln during the 2010 Special Olympics fly-in on Saturday, July 17, 2010. (JACOB HANNAH / Lincoln Journal Star)
JACOB HANNAH
Special Olympics fly-in
Roxanne Suesz (right) and Lea Anne Johnson of Lincoln cheer on the athletes as they arrive in Lincoln during the 2010 Special Olympics fly-in on Saturday, July 17, 2010. (JACOB HANNAH / Lincoln Journal Star)
JACOB HANNAH
Special Olympics fly-in, July 17, 2010
Zach Taylor of Beemer tries on his Team Nebraska uniform in his Abel Hall room Saturday afternoon. (ROBERT BECKER / Lincoln Journal Star)
ROBERT BECKER
Special Olympics fly-in, July 17, 2010
Zach Taylor of Beemer stashes his Team Nebraska duffel bag under his Abel Hall bed Saturday afternoon. (ROBERT BECKER / Lincoln Journal Star)
ROBERT BECKER
Special Olympics fly-in, July 17, 2010
Tracie Hasenkamp, Special Olympics volunteer with the Lincoln West Optimist Club, unloads uniform bags for Team Nebraska at the Abel/Sandoz welcome center Saturday afternoon. (ROBERT BECKER / Lincoln Journal Star)
ROBERT BECKER
Special Olympics fly-in, July 17, 2010
Relieved to get out of the heat, Sue Gieschen of Brule (left) and Julie Schwasinger of Ogallala, co-regional directors of the Special Olympics Nebraska west region, helped carry Team Nebraska golf clubs into the Abel/Sandoz welcome center Saturday afternoon. (ROBERT BECKER / Lincoln Journal Star)
ROBERT BECKER
Special Olympics fly-in, July 17, 2010
Team Ohio and Team Nebraska Special Olympians relax in the Abel/Sandoz welcome center Saturday afternoon. (ROBERT BECKER / Lincoln Journal Star)
ROBERT BECKER
Special Olympics welcome
Team Nebraska was welcomed to the Special Olympics during an arrival party at the Embassy Suites in downtown Lincoln on Saturday, July 17, 2010. (ROBERT BECKER / Lincoln Journal Star)
ROBERT BECKER
Harrison Ford arrival, July 17
Harrison Ford arrives at the Lincoln Airport during the Special Olympics fly-in on the afternoon of Saturday, July 17, 2010. (JORDAN PASCALE / Lincoln Journal Star)
Special Olympics welcome
Team Nebraska was welcomed to the Special Olympics during an arrival party at the Embassy Suites in downtown Lincoln on Saturday, July 17, 2010. Marty Haugen (right) of South Sioux City will play unified golf. (ROBERT BECKER / Lincoln Journal Star)
ROBERT BECKER
Special Olympics airlift
Special Olympics volunteers greet Team Minnesota athletes at the Special Olympics Airlift at the Lincoln Airport on Friday, July 17, 2010. (GWYNETH ROBERTS / Lincoln Journal Star)
Gwyneth Roberts
Special Olympics airlift
UPS driver Jeff Ottemann (left) loads a truck with Special Olympic athletes' luggage at the Special Olympics Airlift at the Lincoln Airport on Friday, July 17, 2010. (GWYNETH ROBERTS / Lincoln Journal Star)
Gwyneth Roberts
Special Olympics airlift
Team Florida athlete Garrett Jacobs (left) greets Arrow Stage Lines driver Wes Tonniges as the team boards the shuttle to their hotel at the Citation Special Olympics Airlift at the Lincoln Airport on Friday, July 17, 2010. (GWYNETH ROBERTS / Lincoln Journal Star)
Gwyneth Roberts
Special Olympics airlift
Air Force Master Sergeant Mark Stocking transfers Special Olympic athletes' luggage to a UPS truck for transport to the team hotels with help from Captain Hank Piening (left) and Lieutenant Colonel Robert Hargens (right) at the Citation Special Olympics Airlift at the Lincoln Airport on Friday, July 17, 2010. (GWYNETH ROBERTS / Lincoln Journal Star)
Gwyneth Roberts
Special Olympics
Team Ohio powerlifter Nathan Michelson is directed to his dorm room by coach Ken Lemmon on the UNL campus for the 2010 Special Olympics. (ROBERT BECKER / Lincoln Journal Star)
ROBERT BECKER
Special Olympics
As the first busload of Special Olympians arrives at Abel/Sandoz residence halls on the UNL campus, UNL conference hall director Chrissie Baughman (left) and tennis coach Janet Brunecz (second from left) lead Team Ohio to the welcome center for their stay in Lincoln. (ROBERT BECKER / Lincoln Journal Star)
ROBERT BECKER
Special Olympics
Team Ohio golf coach Donna Shank escorts the first Special Olympians to arrive at the Abel/Sandoz welcome center on the UNL campus early Saturday morning. "We got up at 4:15 this morning, and when we arrived in Lincoln a nice friendly volunteer at the airport offered me this hat and I said I'd wear it. I've never stepped down in Nebraska before, but I've flown over it," she said. (ROBERT BECKER / Lincoln Journal Star)
ROBERT BECKER
Special Olympics
About 45 Frontier Harley-Davidson volunteers planned to escort Special Olympics participants from the airport to UNL dorms. This group just finished escorting and greeting the early-arriving Team Ohio, and they were ready to head back to the airport. (ROBERT BECKER / Lincoln Journal Star)
ROBERT BECKER
Special Olympics airlift
Special Olympics athletes are cheered on as they arrive in Lincoln during the 2010 Special Olympics Airlift on Saturday, July 17, 2010. (JACOB HANNAH / Lincoln Journal Star)
JACOB HANNAH
Special Olympics airlift
Members of the Special Olypmics Ohio team get off their plane during the 2010 Special Olympics Airlift in Lincoln on Saturday, July 17, 2010. (JACOB HANNAH / Lincoln Journal Star)
JACOB HANNAH
Special Olympics airlift
Michael Davis, a Special Olympic athlete from Toledo, Ohio, searches for a fist bump with welcoming volunteers at the Citation Special Olympics Airlift at the Lincoln Airport on Friday, July 17, 2010. (GWYNETH ROBERTS / Lincoln Journal Star)
Gwyneth Roberts
Special Olympics airlift
Special Olympics athletes arriving in Lincoln (at left) wave to Paula Yetter and Randolph Messman, two Lincoln residents who turned out at Lincoln Airport for the Citation Special Olympics Airlift to give their support to the athletes on Friday, July 17, 2010. (GWYNETH ROBERTS / Lincoln Journal Star)
Gwyneth Roberts
Special Olympics airlift
Spectators at the airport for the fly-in for the 2010 Special Olympics. (JORDAN PASCALE / Lincoln Journal Star)
Special Olympics airlift
The delegation from Ohio lands at the Lincoln Airport for the 2010 Special Olympics. (MICAH MERTES / Lincoln Journal Star)
Special Olympics airlift
Media swarm the Special Olympics airlift at the Lincoln Airport on July 17, 2010. (MICAH MERTES / Lincoln Journal Star)
Special Olympics airlift
At the Lincoln airport, an estimated 100-250 had shown up by 8 a.m. for the 2010 Special Olympics fly-in at the Lincoln Airport on July 17, 2010. (JORDAN PASCALE / Lincoln Journal Star)
Special Olympics airlift
Athletes step off planes at the Lincoln airport at the 2010 Special Olympics in Lincoln. (JORDAN PASCALE / Lincoln Journal Star)
Special Olympics airlift
Athletes leave planes at the Lincoln Airport for the 2010 Special Olympics. (JORDAN PASCALE / Lincoln Journal Star)
Special Olympics airlift
Spectators watch the 2010 Special Olympics airlift at the Lincoln Airport on July 17, 2010. (KEVIN ABOUREZK / Lincoln Journal Star)
Special Olympics airlift
Spectators watch the 2010 Special Olympics airlift at the Lincoln airport on July 17, 2010. (KEVIN ABOUREZK / Lincoln Journal Star)
Special Olympics airlift
The delegation from Maryland lands in Lincoln on July 17, 2010, for the 2010 Special Olympics. (JORDAN PASCALE / Lincoln Journal Star)
Special Olympics airlift
Special Olympics airlift (KEVIN ABOUREZK / Lincoln Journal Star)
Special Olympics airlift
Spectators meet athletes at the Lincoln aiport during the fly-in for the 2010 Special Olympics on July 17, 2010. (MICAH MERTES / Lincoln Journal Star)
Special Olympics airlift
The torch arrives at the Lincoln airport on July 17, 2010, where athletes are arriving for the 2010 Special Olympics. (JORDAN PASCALE / Lincoln Journal Star)
Special Olympics airlift
The torch arrives at the Lincoln airport for the 2010 Special Olympics (JORDAN PASCALE / Lincoln Journal Star)
Special Olympics airlift
The torch arrives at the Lincoln airport on July 17, 2010, for the 2010 Special Olympics. (CORY MATTESON / Lincoln Journal Star)
Special Olympics airlift
Athletes arrive at the Lincoln airport on July 17, 2010, for the 2010 Special Olympics. (KEVIN ABOUREZK / Lincoln Journal Star)
Special Olympics airlift
At the fly-in for the 2010 Special Olympics, volunteer Jason Ball: "Everyone loves me 'cuz I'm the goofy guy with the corn on my head." (MICAH MERTES / Lincoln Journal Star)
Special Olympics airlift
A water cart is driven through the airport for the fly-in of more than 8,000 athletes for the 2010 Special Olympics. (JORDAN PASCALE / Lincoln Journal Star)
Omaha fly-in, July 17
Clipped Wings volunteer organizer Betsy Anderson plans for the arrival of another flight of Special Olympics athletes at Omaha's Eppley Airfield on Saturday. Clipped Wings, a nationwide group of current and former United Airlines stewardesses and flight attendants, greeted and organized transportation at the Lincoln and Omaha airports for Special Olympics National Games teams. (ZACH PLUHACEK / Lincoln Journal Star)
Omaha fly-in, July 17
Clipped Wings national secretary Christel Ilg, of Chicago, chats with Special Olympics soccer player Jacob Coyle on the way to baggage claim at Omaha's Eppley Airfield on Saturday. (ZACH PLUHACEK / Lincoln Journal Star)
Omaha fly-in, July 17
Marines load baggage for Special Olympics athletes from Rhode Island at Omaha's Eppley Airfield. The three dozen athletes from Rhode Island were among an estimated 700 who arrived in Omaha on Saturday. In all, about 1,000 athletes are expected to have landed at Eppley by the start of the games. (ZACH PLUHACEK / Lincoln Journal Star)
Special Olympics
With her pillow and luggage in tow, track and field athlete Shannon Chrisman of South Sioux City arrives at UNL's Abel Hall with other Team Nebraska members for the 2010 Special Olympics. (ROBERT BECKER / Lincoln Journal Star)
ROBERT BECKER
Special Olympics
"It's crazy, it's awesome, I love it!" Team Nebraska's Zach Taylor of Beemer, the starting quarterback on Fremont's Special Olympics flag football team, had nothing but praise for his new uniform as he looked in the mirror while trying it on after getting to his Abel dorm room at UNL Saturday afternoon. (ROBERT BECKER / Lincoln Journal Star)
ROBERT BECKER
The 12-year-old girl with the crown, red and white sash and flowered white dress waved as athletes passed before her Saturday. "I'm glad to be welcoming and supporting the athletes today," said Emma Keifer, National American Miss Pre-Teen Nebraska.
The actor said he got to to meet some "wonderful people" in the five Special Olympics athletes and two coaches he flew into Lincoln from Albuquerque, N.M.
A crowd of about 100 cheered, clapped and whooped as the Special Olympics athletes stepped off a plane and into the muggy Nebraska morning Saturday. Each athlete was greeted with a high-five and applause. Then came another plane. And another.
"We're going to see a lot of gold medals coming back to the state of Nebraska from you guys," former NU quarterback Tommie Frazier told the state's delegation of 281 athletes Saturday.