Season 2 of “Welcome to Wrexham” is set for plenty of drama as the underdog Welsh football team owned by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney were minutes away from another upset win in the FA Cup tournament, only to drop game-tying Goal in the last minutes.
Earlier this month, Wrexham made headlines in both the UK and US by upsetting Coventry in the third round of the FA Cup. For those who don’t follow English footy, the FA Cup is the UK’s domestic tournament, with teams from all over the country, from the Premier League down to the minor leagues.
Up to this point in the tournament, most teams have been from the Premier League or the second-tier EFL Championship, but Wrexham, currently fighting for promotion from the fifth-tier National League, is the tournament’s Cinderella. A win against EFL Championship side Sheffield United today would give Wrexham a strong chance of facing a Premier League team in the round of 16.
And with Reynolds watching from a sell-out crowd at Wrexham’s racecourse ground – which is undergoing long overdue repairs thanks to investment from the team’s Hollywood owners – it looked as though Wrexham were going to pull it off. After Sheffield United suffered a red card that left them a man down, Wrexham struck thanks to forward Paul Mullin in the 86th minute.
But then, with less than three minutes remaining in injury time, Sheffield United scored an equalizer to draw the game 3–3. In accordance with FA Cup rules, there will be a rematch in the coming two weeks with Sheffield United as the home team.
Despite the disappointing finish, it is clear that Wrexham and its famous owners have captured the attention of sports fans on both sides of the Atlantic. McElhenney, who is in Philadelphia today to watch the Eagles battle for a spot in the Super Bowl, hosted a Wrexham watch party for fans in Philly and could be seen speaking on the phone with Reynolds during the game.
The Wrexham fans, meanwhile, celebrated Reynolds by chanting “there is only one ryan reynolds, They always break out into a pro song whenever the “Deadpool” star is in attendance.
“Welcome to Wrexham” is available to stream on Hulu.
