Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney missed out on Wrexham’s promotion to League One.
Three things needed to happen during the Welcome to Wrexham season 3 finale for the team to secure automatic promotion: Wrexham needed to win against Forest Green Rovers, MK Dons had to lose or draw against Mansfield Town and Barrow needed to lose or draw against Gillingham.
Because all three things happening were such a “long shot,” per Wrexham executive director Humphrey Ker, the team’s cochairs decided to skip out on the big game.
“What do you think, should we go to this game or not?” Reynolds, 47, asked during the Thursday, June 13 finale. McElhenney, 47, replied, “I don’t know. It’s almost mathematically impossible.”
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The actors decided to attend the “next one,” seemingly forgetting that nothing is impossible for Wrexham. When the big day came, Reynolds was watching from set.
“I cannot believe we’re not there. F—k,” he said. “I mean, it wasn’t like a sure thing. It was eh, it might happen, it might not.”
McElhenney’s wife, Kaitlin Olson, was recording the It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia actor in their Los Angeles living room.
“Usually, I’m pacing behind the couch,” he said.
When Wrexham beat the Forest Green Rovers 6-0, the entire fanbase stormed the pitch. Both MK Dons and Barrow lost, meaning that Wrexham had secured an automatic promotion into League One.
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“A few years ago, if you had told me I would be crying tears of joy over a football match taking place in North Wales, you would be @robmcelhenney,” Reynolds shared via Instagram, celebrating the win. “Congrats to @wrexham_afc and to my co-chairman in crime. Double up the town! This is the ride of our lives.”
Despite their back-to-back promotions, the Wrexham coaching staff was candid about playing in League One — especially as some of the player’s contracts came to an end.
“The planning for next season is ongoing. There’s a lot of planning to be done in the summer. We’ve got several players out of contract,” Wrexham coach Phil Parkinson said during his confessional. “The jump from League Two to League One is a harder challenge than the National League into League Two and we’ve got to be prepared for that. We’ve got to, as a group, make the right decisions to keep the club progressing in the right direction.”
Welcome to Wrexham is set to return for season 4 on FX. A release date has not yet been set.
