![]() It’s a theory that’s mirrored early on in the show itself, when Rob speaks about his upbringing. Hogan’s love of soccer predates Welcome to Wrexham, but he has his own theories as to why so many American fans have come to love the team, specifically in Philadelphia. (Photo: Matthew Ashton – AMA/Getty Images) ![]() McElhenney and Reynolds with the Vanarama National League Trophy as Wrexham celebrate promotion back to the English Football League. His post at Wrexham is a bit of an upgrade. Rob, one of them said, was the manager of the school’s soccer team freshman year. Joseph’s Prep and was accompanied by a pair of others who also attended the school and still count McElhenney as a good buddy. Quickly, he revealed himself to be a bit more than the average bargoer. They did so in a Philadelphia accent so thick it felt almost illegal.ĭennis Hogan was among them. In a corner of Mac’s, a group of patrons were prattling on about the Catholic High Schools in the area - Saint this-or-that, Sacred Heart, Mount whatever. ![]() As Dematreszik puts it, it’s a city of neighborhoods, and those who live within these neighborhoods know each other in a familial way. Philadelphia is among the country’s largest cities but feels strangely provincial itself at times. ![]() There’s a whole segment of soccer fans on the internet that would call newcomers like these “plastic fans” (in other words: fake) but it feels almost certain that nobody there would’ve even known what that meant. Mac’s - at least during Wrexham matches - seemed like an extremely unsafe space for negativity. Certainly, those in attendance at Mac’s Tavern to watch Wrexham’s pivotal encounter with Boreham Wood on Saturday felt a far cry from your run-of-the mill Philly sports fans, a group that can sometimes wear their disdain with pride. The show has some of the same feel-good energy that Lasso does, and those who’ve come to support the club through Reynolds and McElhenney often feel a bit less cynical than most of humanity these days. Like Ted Lasso, the wildly-successful Apple TV series about a fish-out-of-water American at the helm of an English club, Welcome to Wrexham has become a crossover hit. It’s also managed to do that most elusive of things, at least for anything related to soccer in America - permeate the widespread feeling of indifference that many Americans feel toward the game. McElhenney and Reynolds’ documentary series on their ownership of the club, Welcome to Wrexham, has made the small, provincial club a household name amongst soccer fans in the United States. McElhenney, who stars in and is co-creator of the long-running FX comedy It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, is Philadelphia royalty and is also a co-owner of Wrexham AFC, along with fellow Hollywood A-lister Ryan Reynolds. The bar counts Rob McElhenney as one of its owners. The attachment to Wrexham at Mac’s isn’t entirely random. Everyone in this bar claims to know /aTDzIwoqID “And I’m entirely on board.”įinal whistle in Philly as earn promotion. “This is huge for us,” Dematreszik said a few moments later, her voice still haggard from all the madness. In the corner, parked in front of a television that showed a Sixers playoff game, a few uninitiated patrons looked on in abject confusion. The entire place broke out in applause, chanting “we’re going up” and downing their beers in celebration. And on Saturday, as Wrexham earned promotion from the National League for the first time in 15 years, the place was mobbed.Īs the final whistle blew, Dematreszik stood on the bar and waved a Wrexham jersey over her head. At Mac’s, where the Phillies, Flyers, Sixers and Eagles have always dominated, a tiny Welsh club has managed to carve out its own place. Yes, behind the bar at Mac’s Tavern, just inches from a proudly-displayed jersey of former Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Chase Utley, is a Wrexham AFC jersey. There were the Welsh flags that popped up, and the Welsh accents, those rolled Rs and dragged-out vowels intermingling with Philly’s own unique take on the English language.Īnd then there were the Wrexham jerseys. There were the pair of Welsh ladies who brought in a batch of bakestones - a traditional sweet bread from the country - and left them at the bar for the staff to enjoy.
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