Kai Calderbank-Park is, by his own admission, “just a lad from Wollongong.”
But, as of last Sunday, he is also a part of history that captured the imagination of football and non-football fans alike.
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The Australian will forever be a member of the Wrexham squad that ended its 15-year exile from the English Football League (EFL).
The Welsh club accomplished the feat in just the second full season under the passionate ownership of Hollywood duo Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds.
A 3-1 win over Boreham Wood at The Racecourse sealed not just promotion but also the National League title, sparking jubilant celebrations from the 10,000-plus fans inside and indeed outside the venue.
Calderbank-Park, a 22-year-old goalkeeper who wasn’t in the matchday squad but was fully immersed in the celebrations, was just one of very few who go to experience a wild, drunken night of triumph.
It was the final stop on the day’s emotional rollercoaster which extended long into the night, even though Wrexham’s players and staff still had to show up for training the next day.
Although the hangovers may have been severe for fans and players alike, no-one will forget the day Wrexham returned to the EFL.
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DISASTER STRUCK IN 40 SECONDS … THEN RIVALS GOT MULLIN’D
The equation for Wrexham was simple: win and they would be promoted with the league title in tow.
But against Boreham Wood, who went into the clash with the best defensive record in the National League, Wrexham’s wheels came unstuck in just 40 seconds.
A ball was lofted over Wrexham’s backline and Boreham Wood striker Lee Ndlovu pounced, lobbing the ball over Ben Foster and into the back of the net.
“It was weird,” Calderbank-Park told the Fox Football Podcast.
“Literally as they scored, you couldn’t hear anything. I was just like, ‘What’s happened?’
“I couldn’t even hear their fans. It was more of a shock if anything.”
Yet the silence was quickly replaced by a roar from a sea of red at The Racecourse as the Wrexham faithful rallied behind their troops.
It took just 15 minutes for the home side equalised thanks to Elliot Lee, a 28-year-old midfielder who played in the Championship with Luton Town only two seasons ago.
The score remained locked at 1-1 at the half-time interval, but it took just seven minutes after the break for the third goal of the game.
For those who have followed Wrexham’s journey since the Hollywood takeover, there are no prizes for guessing who put the home side in the lead.
Paul Mullin bagged Wrexham’s second goal before adding a third in the 71st minute, allowing Wrexham fans to dream of life back in the EFL.
However, Calderbank-Park kept a lid on his excitement despite Mullin’s 38th goal of the season.
“You have it (promotion) in the back of your mind a bit, but at the same time, there’s still 15 minutes to play,” Calderbank-Park said.
“It’s one of those ones, as soon as you get the third goal, it’s technically only 2-0. They get one back, there’s still 10 or 15 minutes to play so in your head you’re thinking, ‘Crap, they could easily get another one here.’
“Don’t get me wrong, some people probably thought, ‘Yeah, we’re pretty comfortable.’ But it’s still not over.”
As the clock ticked down, the party began to start.
The crowd was in full voice and Wrexham’s players on the sideline began exchanging nervous but excited glances at one another.
“Then the final whistle goes and bang, we win the league and get promoted,” Calderbank-Park said.
CRATES OF BEER, PITCH INVASIONS AND THE ALL-TIME INSTAGRAM SELFIE
There were a handful of seconds between Wrexham’s players raising their arms in joy and being mobbed by the fans who sprinted onto the field.
As for Calderbank-Park, he has “absolutely no idea” who he hugged first, claiming “it was a random fan.”
It was all part of the fun for the young Aussie who wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I was literally on the sideline next to the coaches and staff and bench players,” Calderbank-Park said.
“We just sprinted onto the pitch and got absolutely mauled. People were hugging you and kissing you, taking photos with you.
“People had some people on their shoulders, there were flares going off, it was madness.”
It took 20 minutes for Wrexham’s players to make their way through the dugout and into their dressing room where the party cranked up a notch.
Crates of beers were wheeled in, the contents of which were rapidly emptied into their mouths or sprayed onto the walls of the changing room.
“I absolutely stank of alcohol,” Calderbank-Park recalled.
“I was absolutely drenched. Then the gaffer (Phil Parkinson) came in and got absolutely drenched. Everyone was spraying when he came in.
“We were all singing, ‘We Are The Champions.’”
As for the MVP of the celebrations, Calderbank-Park needed little time to reveal the culprit.
“You know what, Ben Foster is up there,” Calderbank-Park said.
“Ben Foster, 100 per cent. He surprised me. He loved a beer, he loved all the beer and alcohol.
“But every single one of them was happy and buzzing. Rightly so, we should be.”
The changing room celebrations were briefly paused at the request of British broadcaster BT Sport, who politely asked the team to re-emerge onto the field to lift the trophy now that the fans had returned to the stands.
Front and centre of the trophy celebrations, and deservedly so, were Reynolds and McElhenney, the men who re-energised the entire football club and indeed the town.
They’re more accustomed to clinking glasses filled with Veuve Clicquot alongside Hollywood’s elite, but on this day, the beverage of choice was Wrexham Lager, all downed alongside the tightly-knit squad they helped create.
It all speaks to how “down to earth” the Hollywood pair truly are.
“They’re literally like one of the players,” Calderbank-Park said.
“It’s actually quite mad. A lot of people don’t realise and a lot of clubs don’t do it, but they’re literally like one of the boys. It’s weird. It doesn’t seem real.
“We were walking around the pitch with them, hugging them and getting selfies with them. It’s quite mad, to be fair.
“You’re just chilling and relaxing and being best mates with these Hollywood superstars which is absolutely outrageous.
“But they’re just like one of us.”
Even if Reynolds and McElhenney want to come across as one of the lads, they still remain superstars to the average Joe.
Just ask Calderbank-Park’s mother and girlfriend, who were both incredibly nervous at the prospect of meeting the duo.
“All the families came on the pitch and we were talking and celebrating, then the trophy was in the middle with Rob and Ryan,” Calderbank-Park said.
“There was actually a bit of a queue, all the players and the families were in a queue to get a photo and have a quick chat.
“I told my mum and girlfriend, ‘Come over and come and meet them.’ So we got in the queue. My mum and girlfriend were a bit starstruck. They were a bit like, ‘Oh my god, we’re about to meet Rob and Ryan.’
“Went up to them, shook their hands. I introduced them to my mum and dad and girlfriend, they’re lovely. They asked if they’re (parents and girlfriend) from Australia as well.
“We were just saying it doesn’t get much better than this.”
‘ONWARDS AND UPWARDS’: AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE AWAITS, BUT IT CAN’T CHANGE HISTORY
With Wrexham’s future in League Two now secure, there’s likely to be significant changes in personnel.
Calderbank-Park, who joined last September on a short-term deal but was extended until the end of the season in January, is one of many who faces an uncertain future.
Given Wrexham’s large goalkeeping stocks, his time at the club could be over, such is the volatile nature of contracts in the lower tiers of English football.
But the 22-year-old isn’t focusing too much on his future just yet.
Instead, he’s just basking in the joy this promotion brought to a town that had long been craving something positive on the football field.
“The club’s spent 15 years in that league,” Calderbank-Park said.
“Rob and Ryan have come in to get us out of that league. Now that has officially happened, it’s just such a relief. The celebrations and to see what it was like, you will never see anything like it.
“On the day, there would have been 10,150 people there. There’s a lot more people outside the stadium that couldn’t get in.
“Everyone was so happy and relieved. It was like a weight had been lifted off your shoulders. Now it’s onwards and upwards.”
Whether he extends his stay in the north of Wales or doesn’t, no-one can ever take away what Calderbank-Park has done.
He will forever be tied to a piece of Wrexham history and he’s done it at just 22 years of age.
“Hands down, probably one of, if not the best career moment I’ve had,” Calderbank-Park said.
“I’m only 22, so I’ve not had that many career moments. Being called up to the Australian national team (U19 and U23) is one of my proudest moments, signing for Burnley in the Premier League was quite a big achievement for me.
“Now, getting promoted, because it’s such a big club and it’s going places and because of what they were, 15 years in that league, to see how big and popular they are now, it’s on there as one of the best things I’ve done in my career.
“Experiencing and seeing it live in the flesh is something you’ll never forget.
“I’m just a lad from Wollongong, I’m just a guy from the ‘Gong living the dream.”
