It seems the team’s tough night didn’t end with the final whistle. After a 17-3 preseason loss to the Patriots, marking the first action under their new head coach, Dave Canales, the Carolina Panthers boarded their Delta Airlines flight back home. What should have been a routine flight home turned into a night they won’t soon forget. As news of the incident spread on social media, Panthers’ safety Xavier Woods chimed in with a bit of humor. He took to X, quipping, “Vouchers??” — a lighthearted nod to the ordeal, and perhaps a subtle plea for some compensation for the chaotic experience.

But the social media fun didn’t stop there. Enter Patriots legend Chris Long, the king of online pranks. Known for his playful trolling, Long saw the Panthers’ flight drama as an opportunity to revive his classic prank. He jumped on X with a snarky “Worst Flight” tweet, clearly trolling Delta once again.

Back in June 2017, Long’s teammate Fletcher Cox tweeted about his frustrating experience with delayed Delta flights. Long, never one to miss a chance for a comment turned into a viral moment. He swapped his Twitter profile to a Delta logo, renamed himself “Delta,” and dropped a tweet that poked fun at the ineffectiveness of online complaints. Delta’s official account responded with standard customer service replies, but Long’s tweet became an instant hit.

Now, years later, Long hasn’t missed a beat. His “Worst Flight” tweet in response to the Panthers’ muddy misadventure shows that his humor is as sharp as ever. Long’s knack for blending humor with frustration highlights how sports figures deal with everyday inconveniences in a way that keeps fans entertained.

So, while the Panthers might have had a rough landing, at least those 188 people have one heck of a story to tell.

Delta flight carrying Carolina Panthers ran off the taxiway

At around 2:35 a.m., just as the team was probably ready to hit the snooze button, their plane slid off the taxiway at Charlotte Douglas International Airport.

As the plane was moving toward the gate, it suddenly slipped off the road and got stuck straight in the mud. This happened because Tropical Storm Debbie had dropped more than four inches of rain the day before. Although the rain had stopped, it left behind such mud that even the plane got stuck. No injuries were reported among the 188 passengers, but we can only imagine the shock of seeing our flight suddenly go off course after an already frustrating night on the field.

In a statement to NFL.com, a Panthers spokesperson confirmed the mishap: “The team can confirm that their chartered team plane, after landing safely, did run off the taxiway and into mud. The team can also confirm that no injuries were reported and no one was hurt.”

While the players might have expected to hit the showers after a tough game, they instead had to deplane and take buses to the terminal—not exactly the smooth recovery they were hoping for.

Delta Airlines weighed in on the situation, clarifying that, “The plane, Delta Flight 8860, landed on runway 36R closest to the Billy Graham Parkway around 2:35 a.m., before it went off the taxiway into mud“.

As the Panthers’ ordeal gained traction online, it set the stage for some unexpected reactions from the sports community.