MLS Should Take Notes From Wrexham

written by Troy Ewers

Sunday, January 29th, 2023, ESPN+ showed an Emirates FA cup game, which is normal, but this featured a team that has been the topic of conversation for a year now. Wrexham FC, best known as the 5th division English professional soccer team that has a FX/Hulu docuseries, due to the fact that their new owners are Deadpool, Ryan Reynolds and It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia star Rob McElhenny. At first the actors buying the club seemed like a publicity stunt, displayed in the doc was that the 2 Hollywood stars actually cared about what was best for the club and the city of Wrexham (A small, working class city in Wales). A year after buying the club, here we are, Wrexham FC played Sheffield United, a club in the EFL championship (one division under the Premier League). By the way, in English soccer there’s a league “pyramid”, at the top is the Premier League (the highest pro football league in England and the most high profile league in the world) after that is the EFL Championship, then League 1 and League 2, then below that is where Wrexham lies, the National League. This game was highly anticipated because Wrexham has become an underdog story the nation can get behind. The drama of these Hollywood guys taking this small, obscure club in Wales and possibly in 4 years make it to the highest level of competition in soccer, how can you hate on that? 

Well MLS soccer fans found a way to hate on this level of storytelling. MLS fans (mostly on Twitter) are mad at ESPN for showing more attention and marketing this 4th round FA cup match up with 2 fairly “whatever” teams. One tweet said “If this happened 2 years ago before Deadpool bought Wrexham, this team wouldn’t even make the bottom ticker on ESPN”. And that’s honestly true, but that’s not ESPN’s fault. It’s not Wrexham’s fault, It’s not Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenny’s fault. Sh*t to be honest, it’s no one's fault, except the MLS and their fans. The MLS product isn’t strong enough to build one team’s story, let alone be worth ESPN giving the MLS half the attention they gave Wrexham. American soccer doesn’t use the promotion pyramid, so already there’s no underdog story like Wrexham trying to get to the Premier League from where they are now, but on top of that if one club attempted to copy what Wrexham has done and succeeded, it was actually showcase the state of the product which would compare to England’s EFL Championship league and League 1, not the standard America holds every other pro sports league. MLS fans are angry, because none of the owners of their club made the country care about the club, the way Wrexham has been marketed. It’s not like Hollywood actors haven’t bought MLS teams before, but why is it that LeBron is invested in LIverpool, Serena Williams is invested in Chelsea, these European clubs? It’s because the American product has to improve for the investors to actually care. Instead of hating on Wrexham for getting the attention… study how and it’s deeper than just getting a big name star to get us a docu series… Will Ferrel is invested in LAFC and they have a doc on Hulu… Let me guess you didn’t know that. 

The 3 things Wrexham did was simple, but seems to go unnoticed by MLS fans, so let’s map this out. First thing is they marketed themselves better than any MLS team and that was before

the Hulu series. Ryan and Rob immediately took to social media when they bought the club and whether it was wearing a jersey or making direct content about the club, it was all over Instagram, Twitter, and Tik Tok (who is also a sponsor of the club). Ryan/Rob also partnered with huge brands that have massive advertising campaigns like Expedia and Ally to also spread the club. Not to mention Ryan’s brands he also owns are just additional marketing pieces (Aviation Gin & Mint Mobile). Unless you’re already a fan of an MLS club or live where one has a decent fanbase, then it’s highly unlikely you follow an MLS player or club, let alone see the owners all over social media promoting it. Again that’s even before there’s docu series profiling the club. Second thing MLS clubs and fans should take notes on is how once Ryan and Rob bought the club, they immediately filled holes that were needed, on and off the pitch. HIring a highly qualified club CEO, operations manager, and a coach who has a reputation of getting clubs promoted. Also spending money on not just good front office people, but a star player that’s on the verge of retirement, which is the MLS signature move. Don’t believe me look at when Beckham, Henry, and Zlatan came to America and it’s not like Miami is getting prime Messi. Lastly and this is the most important to me, in my opinion, Ryan and Rob connected with the city their club was in. In America sports fans see soccer as a whatever sport. In Europe and other parts of the world, soccer is more than a game, it’s a representation of the city and once every 4 years it’s a representation of the country. Rob McEhlenny wanted to purchase Wrexham because the city reminded him of his hometown of Philly and how when the Eagles won the Super Bowl, he wanted that feeling for Wrexham. Connection to a city is a huge part of the sport of soccer, the club is the proverbial flag for that city and again if you don’t believe me, go to Naples, Italy and see if Diego Maradona is still considered a God there. 

At a certain point as the sport of soccer becomes more popular in the States, we have to acknowledge that the product is lackluster and instead of hating on ESPN+ for wanting ratings, we have to hold the MLS owner feet to the fire and say spend money and treat this club like how any other professional sports team in America is treated and that’s to actually not be these local, novelty acts and actually be a part of a bigger conversation… By the way Wrexham gotta draw in the game on Sunday. They will replay the game against Sheffield United and if Wrexham wins, they will play Tottenham Hotspur, one of the 6 highest profile teams in England. Seems like the publicity stunt worked.