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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Andy Gilpin

Meeting Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney confirmed what we already knew about Wrexham

Being a Wrexham fan for 30 years, it wasn't always as glamorous as this.

Back in 2019 - losing to Ebbsfleet, then Maidenhead and Aldershot - Wrexham were a Non-League club really going somewhere. Down.

After over 30 years of following the Robins (then Dragons), I'd seen some highs and lows in my time, but recently it was the latter.

Covid didn't help and the club stood on the precipice of relegation and even going out of business - until two unlikely heroes stepped in. Rob McElhenney may not be a household name to everyone - but Ryan Reynolds was.

And in one superhero sweep, everything changed.

We set up a podcast and fanzine because we'd lived through the bad times and thought we'd have the cynicism - but also the hope - to tell the story properly and we've welcomed new supporters from all over the world. And we had something just as foreign to us - success.

Ryan and Rob have been at the forefront of all this.

They readily admit they don't know everything about football - so they leave the running of the club to those who do. What they do know about is marketing and storytelling. And my word have they sold the town and the club to the world.

They don't need to do a fans' podcast. There's little in it for them in their busy lives.

But they came, they engaged and they gave their time freely and laughed as they told us which player they'd least like to fight (Luke Young in case you wanted to know, but an honourable mention for Paul Mullin).

Speaking to two such stars, even us hardened podcasters were a little nervous, but they soon put us at ease. Talking to them only highlighted how ultra-driven and intelligent they are - as well as how much they seem to genuinely care.

It'll do wonders for our podcast - but then these two do wonders for everyone in the town we're now even more proud to call home.

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