United Airlines stranded World Cup commentary team more than 200 miles from its destination at 3 a.m.

The logistical challenges of the FIFA World Cup have been pushed to new extremes for its most ridiculous edition yet. Moving from one city to another is a challenge not only for the players and coaches, but also for the broadcasters. A diverted United Airlines flight stranded the Fox Sports commentary team in Washington, DC, at 3:00 a.m. on Monday morning. Frustrated and with busy schedules, the trio decide to find their way to New Jersey.

Canada, Mexico and the United States are hosting the continent-spanning soccer tournament, which features an expanded field of 48 national teams and 16 host cities. According to Simply FlyingPlay-by-play legend Ian Darke, retired U.S. national team star Landon Donovan and his statistician were passengers on United Airlines Flight 404 from Houston to Newark Liberty International Airport. After covering Germany’s 7-1 defeat in Curaçao on Sunday, the trio needed to head to the New York City area for France vs. Senegal. However, the flight never landed in Newark.

The storm prevented a United Boeing 737 Max from landing in Newark. The aircraft was diverted to Dulles International Airport to wait out bad weather before proceeding to New Jersey. However, the pilot took leave from duty just one minute before takeoff at 3:00 am. They were forced to take the plane by taxi back to the gate. Despite the scorching heat and human rights abuses, I almost miss the 2022 FIFA World Cup in the tiny country of Qatar.

Back at the gate, the situation got worse for our commentary trio and the rest of the passengers on the flight. With the United flight not scheduled to depart for Newark until 8:10 a.m., it was truly an airline odyssey, considering they had departed Houston at 6:17 the previous night. People informed Darke and Donovan took to social media to express their frustration with United. “I’ve been traveling 100km a year since I was 16 and this was easily the worst travel experience of my life,” posted the USMNT’s joint all-time leading goal-scorer. Darke said he would “think twice about using that airline again.”

Rather than gamble on the flight, the three opted to rent a car and drive to New York City. United CEO Scott Kirby has spent the past few months talking about how his airline needs to be more competitive in international markets. He even unsuccessfully offered a mega-merger with American Airlines to President Trump to achieve this. With the FIFA World Cup bringing the world to its home market, United Airlines is really showing that Americans choose to fly foreign carriers whenever possible.