By Reuters
Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds said it felt like an “impossible dream” when he floated the idea of buying soccer club Wrexham to fellow Hollywood A-lister Rob McElhenney. He had an idea for a documentary. The ultimate goal was reaching the Premier League.
Four years after they purchased the north Wales outfit, Wrexham are one league away from achieving their lofty goal after a 3-0 win over Charlton Athletic on Saturday saw them promoted for a record third consecutive time.
“It just seemed like an impossible dream, and we do what we’re lucky to do is be storytellers,” Reynolds, best known for his role as superhero character Deadpool, told Sky Sports after the game.
“And when you’re a storyteller, you look as much as you can at the sort of macro view of this history.
“We were standing there doing a press conference four years ago, and said our goal is to make it to the Premier League. And there was understandably a lot of titters and laughter and giggles, but it starts to feel like a real, tangible thing that could actually come to fruition in this moment.”
Wrexham co-owners Ryan Reynolds, center, and Rob McElhenney celebrate at the end of the English League One soccer match between Wrexham and Charlton Athletic.Credit: AP
The Red Dragons will play in the Championship (second tier) next season, something that was unthinkable four years ago when Wrexham were a non-league team going nowhere.
They are the first team ever to enjoy three successive promotions in the top five tiers of English football.
Phil Parkinson’s side clinched second place with 89 points and one game remaining. Birmingham City, who top the League One table with 102 points, had already sealed promotion.
Asked about being just one league below England’s vaunted top-flight, McElhenney laughed and said: “Well, that’s for tomorrow to think about. Today is just enjoying the moment. We could probably wait until 12:01.”
Reynolds replied: “We have to wait ’til tomorrow? I’ll erase the whiteboard I put up at halftime.”
Ryan Reynolds, co-owner of Wrexham AFC, poses for a photo with the trophy alongside Sam Smith following the club’s promotion.Credit: Getty Images
Wrexham’s popularity has skyrocketed on both sides of the Atlantic due to the North American owners and the “Welcome to Wrexham” documentary.
While many sports teams have celebrity absentee owners, Reynolds and McElhenney are anything but absent.
Reynolds, whose wife and fellow actor Blake Lively was also at Saturday’s game, told reporters earlier this week in New York that the stress was “like an eight-inch ulcer in my stomach.”
McElhenney had delivered a pre-game speech to the players before their key 2-1 victory over Blackpool on Monday, and then spent this past week in Wales with them.
Wrexham co-owner Ryan Reynolds kisses his wife Blake Lively.Credit: AP
The Racecourse Ground crowd showed their appreciation in the dying minutes of Saturday’s thriller, turning to applaud the two, who were both down on the celebratory pitch soon after the final whistle wrapping players in giant hugs.
“Ryan and I have the easiest job in the world, which is to show up and watch this incredible football team and this incredible story continue to unfold,” said McElhenney, an American best known for his role in the sitcom “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”.
“And if you want to see what it means to them, you go into that dressing room after a loss and there’s nothing that can console them,” Reynolds added.
“That’s where you see the grit and the metal that these players have. It means everything to them.”
The duo ended their interview with a mic drop. And then Reynolds picked the microphones off the pitch and blew off the grass before handing them back.
The final whistle sparked mayhem as thousands of fans poured onto the pitch carrying banners saying “Back to back to back” and hoisting grinning players on their shoulders amid clouds of red smoke, while Parkinson cracked his first smile of the game.
“What a feeling, it’s incredible,” Wrexham forward Steven Fletcher said. “For this club to go back to back to back is amazing and something special, it gets better each time.
“We want to go again. It’s a big ask but we’ll reset and the sky is the limit with this club.”
Wrexham are reportedly in talks to play in Australia in July, against the Melbourne Victory.
REUTERS
