In the previous days Wrexham AFCround three FA Cup match with City of Coventry Earlier this month, Ryan Reynolds wanted to believe that an upset was coming.
For the Red Dragons, who play in the National League’s fifth tier, winning against a team from the Championship – three places above the English football pyramid – would be the team’s most significant achievement since the movie star. A-lister known for the “Deadpool” series and actor Rob McElhenney (star and co-writer of the FX series “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”) Guaranteed ownership of the Welsh club in 2021.
“You always hope that you’re going to beat the big boys in some great style,” Reynolds told ESPN. “But to be honest, I was hoping we would score.”
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When Sam Dalby scored to put Wrexham ahead in the 12th minute, Reynolds’ thrill hadn’t really gone away. Watching from his New York City apartment — with his wife, actor Blake Lively and their three young daughters — the early goal could make the whole viewing experience even more intense. more straight. Especially when the next second just six minutes later and the idea of Wrexham reaching the next round of the world’s oldest national football tournament suddenly turns into something real.
“I paced back and forth like a tiger snorting drugs,” Reynolds said.
With his family on the couch, Reynolds kept pacing around the coffee table – screaming and shouting at the TV – as Wrexham led 4-1 and, wearily, go on to win 4-3.
Reynolds said: “Part of my spreading the sport is being around other people who have been passionate about it since they were in the womb. “It affected me and I think it affects my own family now.”
It went much further than that. For two years Reynolds and McElhenney owned Wrexham, the oldest professional football club in Wales and the third oldest in the world, it has managed to attract global attention in a way that normally wouldn’t — or shouldn’t even — be able to. On Sunday, Wrexham has another big chance of being in the spotlight when it hosts Sheffield United – who are comfortably second in the Championship and on the verge of promotion to the Premier League – in their FA fourth round clash. Cup (11:30 a.m. ET, streaming on ESPN+).
Quantifying Wrexham’s new reach is an inexact science, but consider this: In September 2019, the Wrexham AFC Wikipedia page was visited 16,181 times. In September 2022, that number rose to 809,410, an increase of 4,902%. That month’s spike in views was almost certainly a direct result of the release of the FX documentary series “Welcome to Wrexham,” which began airing its 18-episode first season on August 24.
Over the past year, Wrexham’s Wikipedia page has averaged 266,573 monthly views, and while that’s not as many as the traditional “Big Six” teams in the Premier League over the same period (Manchester United 657K; Chelsea 482K; Liverpool 453K, City of Manchester 413K; weapon 400K; Tottenham Hotspur 293K), more than any other current team in that league. In the national championship, no team can compare from afar. Notts County, Wrexham’s main promotion rival this season, averages around 38,000 views per month.
By October 2022, two months after “Welcome to Wrexham” premiered, Wrexham had grossed one million followers on its various social media platforms. The club currently has 320,000 followers on Twitter and 577,000 on TikTok (compared to Notts County’s 88,000 and 2,750 followers, respectively).
Reynolds was used to being stopped on the street. Such is the life of one of the most recognizable people on the planet. But over the past few months – and especially since the FA Cup win over Coventry – the approach in New York has been different.
“They didn’t stop me from talking about ‘Deadpool’ or any other movie. [movie] project,” he said. “They stopped me in the street to talk about Wrexham. I got punched in the face by a lot of people and said, ‘Congratulations on the game at Coventry.’ It’s wild to see.”
In their own right, things like Wikipedia pageviews or anecdotes from owners can easily be brushed aside for being a bit petty, but since that kind of evidence is so cohesive, it’s hard to deny that it reflect something special. Last year, Wrexham’s first season under the management of Reynolds and McElhenney and the club’s 157th season, was mostly a success. The team finished the season in second place – six points below the pace of automatic promotion to League Two – before losing 5-4 in the playoff semi-final to Grimsby Town. If they win, it will take them 90 minutes to win promotion.
Wrexham also played for the FA Trophy (an FA Cup-like tournament consisting of only lower-division teams), but lost out in a 0-1 loss to National League rivals Bromley. But with David Beckham and Will Ferrell join Reynolds and McElhenney from the suite at London’s Wembley Stadium, it only added to the buzz around the team.
On the field, Year 2 is even better. The club is on a 15-match unbeaten run in the league and tops the table in the National League. In total, Wrexham has 20 wins (with 5 draws and 2 losses) in its league matches – with the last loss coming on 4 October – and is three points ahead of second-placed Notts County. .
As for success off the pitch, there’s no guarantee “Welcome to Wrexham” will be as well received as it once was (rated 8.3/10 on IMDB; 90% reviews about Rotten tomatoes), but it has always been a major part of a plan to leverage Reynolds and McElhenney’s reputation and position in the entertainment industry to the benefit of the club. Their affiliation makes the club more attractive to brands for sponsorship opportunities that otherwise would not have been possible.
“That’s what you see from Premier League clubs, Championship League clubs,” Reynolds said. “We want to walk away, even as a fifth-tier club. We say this all the time, but we want to be in the Premier League, which sounds crazy to some people. If it is theoretically possible to go from fifth in professional football to the Premier League, why don’t we do it? “
Reynolds added: “We are ready to journey. This is a project that spans decades.”
They are also not alone. While Wrexham’s core group of supporters will always be people who live there, Reynolds said he thinks they’ve reached a group of fans – mainly through the show in the US – who considered Wrexham the second team. Fans who have a main team they support, whether it’s in the Premier League, in another European league or in Major League Soccer in the country, are already invested in what Wrexham is building. .
The bond that both celebrity owners have developed for the community is perhaps an unexpected by-product. Before taking over the club, they understood the concept of the importance of the club to the town, but experiencing it for two years brought a level of appreciation that cannot be imagined from nothing. thin gas. After a heartbreaking defeat to Grimsby last year, Wrexham fans stood after the winners’ on-field celebration ended and continued to sing for another 20-30 minutes.
Reynolds said: “I literally choke up thinking about that right now because it says everything to me. “It speaks to the hope they have, it speaks to the faith they have placed in us – to take care of this much loved club, an institution in this town and an important part of the team. important in their lives for over 150 years.”
To get where Wrexham wants – to get promoted to the next league – playing in the league is of the utmost importance. But the FA Cup’s knockout format and the extravagance surrounding it have provided a broader reach to watch Wrexham than the regular league matches.
A win over Sheffield United, the favorites, would make Wrexham only the 11th fifth-placed side in FA Cup history to reach the round of 16, and in this match Reynolds won’t be pacing back and forth. his living room. This is something he cannot imagine without being present in person.
“Two years ago, I had no passion for the sport, and in a way, I considered it an epidemic,” he said. “In other ways, I consider it the greatest introduction ever given to me, at least from a sporting perspective. It’s wild. I wish it didn’t dominate my thoughts and actions as much as I did. these days, but they say you can’t do great things without enthusiasm.”
