Wrexham AFC Has Become America’s Favorite Underdog
Photo via LA Times
FX and Hulu's behind-the-scenes documentary, Welcome to Wrexham, follows owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney in their outlandish venture of owning an English soccer club. What they might not have expected is the enormous wave of support for their tiny Welsh club in recent months.
The pair purchased the team in 2020 and quickly began filming the documentary series. The first full season of the series covers both the covid era and their first full season as owners in 2021. The documentary was quickly a hit due to its quirky characters, Hollywood star power, and solid football.
Wrexham is quickly becoming an American favorite, and the national league just launched a streaming service for fans to view games internationally, almost entirely as a result of Reynolds (who is also a partner of the new service).
Rob and Ryan's ultimate goal for Wrexham is promotion to the Premier League, and Reynolds has said that they are in for the long haul with the club and the town.
Last year, Wrexham lost in the League playoff final against Grimsby Town 5-4 and missed out on promotion, meaning they would compete in the National League for a 14th consecutive year (they are the longest-serving member of the National League). However, this season the club is looking extremely strong. Currently, Wrexham sits in first place atop the table, and their chances for promotion are very good.
For those unfamiliar with the "English football pyramid," it's actually quite simple. If a team wins its league, they get promoted to the league above them. If a team places in the bottom two spots of the league, they get demoted to the league below them. If a team is in neither of these positions, they stay in the same league for the next season.
To put it into American terms, imagine if the DC Defenders won the XFL championship, then got promoted into the NFL for the next season. Then the Chicago Bears, who had the worst record in NFL, would be demoted into the XFL until they could finish high enough to get promoted again.
Wrexham competes in the fifth tier of English football, one below the official Championship leagues (The official leagues being the Premier League, Championship League, League One, and League Two).
For Wrexham's 2022 campaign, many Americans are now tuning in regularly to their games. ESPN reported that the FA cup viewership in the United States increased 858 percent this year, almost entirely as a result of the popularity of the show. Wrexham's FA Cup debut even had more viewers than the MLS matches on FS1 that same day.
For fans who have tuned into Wrexham's recent FA Cup run, it certainly hasn't been disappointing. Wrexham is the lowest-ranked remaining team in the tournament, and just this month, they beat Championship League side Coventry City to advance. It is one of the largest upsets in Wrexham's history. Reynolds was in attendance and shared his feelings during the match, posting "What. The. F***. Is. Happening." on his Instagram story.
Wrexham will compete again on January 28 in the FA cup, this time against Sheffield United, a Championship league team with a long Premier League background. The matchup will take place at the historic racecourse stadium (recognized by Guinness world records as the oldest international football pitch in the world) and is going to be as of the four games being televised on BBC. The matchup will also be shown on ESPN+ in the United States.
The team's National League season continues between FA cup matches, and Wrexham defeated Maidstone United on January 21 to gain first place in the standings. This game also marked the first Wrexham game being shown on the new streaming service, National League TV.
The next season of the documentary is set to drop following the conclusion of this season, but most fans will already know the team's fate before it airs. Regardless of how the team finishes, they're sure to be entertaining, and perhaps promotion will finally come their way.
