An ode to Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, football’s best owners

“It’s the question we’ve gotten more than any other,” read the letter to supporters in the local newspaper.

“Why Wrexham? Because you deserve it.

“For 158 years of fearless devotion.

“For building a club and a community the world should know about.

“For weathering storms that would have broken lesser towns.

“For your cheers, your courage, your traditions, your warmth.

“And because a little over a year ago, you took a chance on two Hollywood jokers who knew precious little about Wales or football.”

These are not empty sentiments, not the kind of disingenuous flattery sent out by corporate owners to fans of clubs across the country.

Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, as strange as it seems, really care about Wrexham AFC.

They have, since purchasing the club last year, forged a connection with the fans unlike any other in British football.

From the outside, there is still plenty of bemusement. Two Hollywood celebrities becoming enamoured with a Welsh football club languishing in non-league was an unlikely news story even in the pandemic era.

Cynics would claim the intention was simply to buy a football team in the lower leagues and tell the story – in documentary format – of the rise through the divisions.

Even if that was the case originally, both Reynolds and McElhenney have grown more and more invested with each twist and turn throughout an entertaining National League season.

McElhenney, star of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, is a self-proclaimed sports enthusiast and was the catalyst for the takeover, so his delight at every Wrexham win has been unsurprising.

Reynolds, meanwhile, seemed a little more contained early on, content to work his contacts in the background and bring in lucrative sponsors like TikTok.

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