By Rory Carroll
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – After Hollywood came to Wrexham and turned the languishing Welsh soccer team into a global sensation with a wildly popular docuseries, the team returned the favour with a visit to Los Angeles on Saturday.
Fans sporting red Wrexham shirts outnumbered those backing MLS reserve team LA Galaxy II at the friendly in Carson, which was won 4-0 by the visitors in the second of the club’s four-match ‘USA Invasion’ tour.
Marvelling at the scene from the sidelines was Wayne Jones, owner of The Turf pub and a breakout star of “Welcome to Wrexham,” which chronicles Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney’s takeover of the club since November 2020.
“We’ve had an incredible welcome and we’re absolutely stoked to be here. It’s such a brilliant city and massive compared to what we’re used to,” Jones told Reuters at halftime.
He said the Welsh team, who in April got their Hollywood ending when they were promoted to the English Football League after a 15-year absence, were “light years” away from where they had been three years ago.
“Every day Wrexham fans wake up and pinch themselves because we’ve had a real rough ride in the past two or three decades, so to be where we are now is incredible,” he said.
Fans sipped on Wrexham-themed drinks at a replica of The Turf pub on a warm Southern California night and, despite being swamped at every turn by photo-seeking fans, Jones balked at the suggestion that he was now famous.
“I don’t see myself as a celebrity, I just work at a bar. I see myself as a humble, down to earth, working class guy,” he said.
“We’re on the rides of our lives at the moment but ultimately what we care about is the community and the football club and if both of them are thriving, which both appear to be, we will embrace it.”
Wrexham face Manchester United on Tuesday in San Diego before wrapping up their tour with a visit to Chester, Pennsylvania for a match against Bethlehem Steel on Saturday.
Season two of “Welcome to Wrexham” is set to begin streaming in the U.S. on Sept. 12.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Ken Ferris)
