There were wild scenes in north Wales tonight as Wrexham sealed promotion back to the Football League. Ryan Reynolds was in tears in the owners box alongside co-owner Rob McElhenney after the final whistle blew on Wrexham's 3-1 win over Boreham Wood.
Supporters invaded in the pitch as the world looked on. Screened on BT Sports 1, it's surely the most viewed Boreham Wood match of all time.
Boreham Wood scored in the first minute, but Paul Mullin - he of the 'F*ck The Tories' boots - was the hero again with two goals. There was absolute bedlam at the final whistle. The man advised supporters over the tannoy to avoid invading the pitch but he was roundly ignored.
When they say ‘Please stay off the pitch….’ #wrexhamafc pic.twitter.com/eYtClBv0cP
— Mark Ogden (@MarkOgden_) April 22, 2023
WE ARE CHAMPIONS!
AFTER 15 YEARS, WE ARE BACK IN THE FOOTBALL LEAGUE!
🔴⚪️ #WxmAFC pic.twitter.com/8crPfDlwqs— Wrexham AFC (@Wrexham_AFC) April 22, 2023
All eyes were naturally on the owners box, and the Deadpool star seemed especially moved by what he was witnessing, and what the club had achieved.
Reynolds and McElhenney were in magnanimous form on the pitch afterwards. Reynolds called the result cathartic for the people of Wrexham and said it was 'honour of his life' to be welcomed into the club.
"Why Wrexham? This is exactly why Wrexham!"
"Paul Mullin is one of the greatest football players in the world!"@VancityReynolds and @RMcElhenney react to @Wrexham_AFC's return to the Football League 🥳 pic.twitter.com/buptb00lOX— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) April 22, 2023
Wrexham had wallowed for 15 years outside of the Football League and were on the verge of becoming obsolete until the intervention of the Hollywood duo
The result tonight seals off a hugely-eventful season that included FA Cup drama, the signing of Eoghan O'Connell and one of the maddest 96th minute penalty saves we can recall.
It's an incredible Hollywood story that was literally made in Hollywood, even if it was set in Wales. Paul Rudd was in Wrexham for the match today, and was seen enjoying beverages in local hostelries.
Just Ant Man in the Turf fanzone ! Ant 🐜 #WrexhamAFC #WxmAFC pic.twitter.com/wmzSPtpXoa
— The Turf Balcony (@TurfBalcony) April 22, 2023
Back at the start of the season, McElhenny explained to the Athletic how he got interested in buying a football club.
It’s always been a dream of mine to be associated in some capacity with a professional sports franchise, (I just never) knew of a rational or legitimate avenue into it. And then it was over the pandemic when I started watching a lot more documentaries and started getting into football and then learned about the English system and realized — wait, that’s an interesting way in. But one of the key factors to success would be to grow the exposure of the club, because the more revenue that comes in, the more you can invest in players. When I started thinking about it that way, and I thought, “well that actually marries what I do for a living — tell stories — with this idea of being involved in a professional sports franchise.” So they were actually working in concert with one another, but I think it was the latter that came first.
Tonight the dream was achieved. League Two, and a phenomenal sophomore season of Welcome To Wrexham awaits.
