Cards Just Wanna Have Fun: Inside Arizona's Celebration-Fueled 1-0 Start

The Arizona Cardinals, much like Cyndi Lauper's 1983 hit, just want to have fun.

Winning is perhaps the biggest ingredient in making that happen for Mike LaFleur's squad. The Cardinals are 1-0 after a thrilling 26-14 win over the Los Angeles Chargers, and if you noticed a bit of extra juice with the players after big plays: that's intentional.

And it starts with their best player.

"I could catch the ball for probably minus two yards and I'm gonna act like I just caught a freaking 100-yard pass. Every time I get the ball I'm excited. I'm happy and I just feel like that juice is contagious," said Cardinals tight end Trey McBride.

"It wears off on my other teammates and when I catch the ball, I feel like everyone's gonna know when I caught the ball because I'm gonna be screaming, yelling, whatever it may be. But it's fun to catch the ball. It's exciting, and I just like to be an infectious energy for the team."

Trey McBride TD and the Cardinals take advantage of the blocked punt!

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— NFL (@NFL) September 13, 2026

Fans in the stadium see it often with how McBride dominates game scripts. Fans at home see it slowed down and in high definition. Jacoby Brissett sees it, too.

"Yes, I see him," Brissett said of McBride celebrating. "He's half paying attention to me and half not, so I'll probably have to repeat it to him again. I'll take that over not hearing him because I know that's not a good sign."

Yet it's not just McBride amping his teammates up. Fellow offensive weapon Kendrick Bourne is known for his energy and electric first-down celebrations. SoFi Stadium saw that often on Sunday after Bourne caught eight passes, five of which moved the chains.

8, count 'em 8 receptions on 8 targets for KB 🙂‍↕️⁣
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— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) September 15, 2026

"Oof, they're both [lively] every time, so I'd say a tie," Marvin Harrison Jr. said when asked who was more lively between McBride and Bourne.

"I think it just brings the whole team together. We kind of feed off each other's energy. Trey's going to celebrate whether he makes a two-yard catch or an 80-yard catch so we kind of just feed off his energy. Me and Michael [Wilson] kind of get in there. You see KB, he's gonna get up and do this thing. So we all just feed off each other, it just makes the game more fun."

Football is, after all, a game. That's a message shared by the players and coaches alike. McBride said the Cardinals are encouraged to inject some energy into their success.

"I feel like Mike [LaFleur] does a really good job, and [Nathaniel] Hackett especially is like when we do something good, let's celebrate it. If we score a touchdown, let's all get excited for each other. It's hard to score in this league, it's hard to make big plays, and it's like when you do that, let's be excited for each other," he said.

"And I think Hackett has done a really good job of emphasizing, like, man, let's go celebrate this. And and in practice, if we don't celebrate, he's calling it out. He's like, this, we gotta get these guys excited, whatever it may be. I just think from the top down, it's been trickled down to us. Guys are excited to play. Guys are excited to be out there with each other, and it's been a lot of fun."

Yet the energy isn't just impacting the Cardinals. McBride says seeing opposing defenses drop their heads while the offense is having fun ignites just a bit more fuel to the fire.

"I just think over and over you keep celebrating, you keep making plays over a 60 minute game, over a whole season, whatever it may be, it's gonna wear down on those guys and bring it up to the offense," said McBride.

"It's exciting to be on the offense. It's exciting to make plays, and the more plays you make, the more you should celebrate."

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