“Welcome to the Ryan Reynolds Memorial Park.”
It is quite a familiar refrain in this corner of Wrexham since Rob McElhenney came up with the novel idea of turning the site of the old Hippodrome on Henblas Street into a community space in honour of his co-chairman.
The difference on Saturday, three or so hours before promotion-chasing Wrexham played out an entertaining 2-2 draw with Cambridge United in League One, is that the guide showing his mate around the site is the man himself. Oh, and Reynolds’ “mate” on this occasion just happens to be fellow A-lister Channing Tatum.
Welcome to Wrexham, a world where Hollywood and lower league football have collided so spectacularly to make it feel absolutely normal that Reynolds and Tatum, two of the world’s biggest movie stars, can calmly stroll into a popular city-centre pub on a Friday night for a bite to eat and then treat everyone there to a festive pint.
Or how, when visiting the park named in his honour the following lunchtime, Reynolds can make the day of young fan Jake Morrisroe-Clutton by filming a video message on his dad’s phone for an absent pal.
Ryan Reynolds and Channing Tatum film a video message for a fan (Richard Sutcliffe/The Athletic)
This really is a club where the extraordinary can be made to feel everyday, even on an afternoon that ultimately ended in frustration courtesy of Cambridge striker Dan Nlundulu’s 89th-minute equaliser from the penalty spot.
“I spoke to Ryan before the game and it was great to see him,” says Phil Parkinson, whose players met Reynolds and his VIP guests before kick-off. “Always a bit special when Ryan is over here because he is the joint owner of the football club.
“Obviously, I’m in touch with Rob and Ryan throughout via texting etc, messages as we go along as they like to be updated all the time, but it was good to have a chat and it’s just a shame we couldn’t get the points for him.”
The tenure of Wrexham’s Hollywood owners may have been characterised mainly by success thanks to those back-to-back promotions, but the pair have also known plenty of heartache, including losing 5-4 to Grimsby Town in the National League play-offs and being denied a famous FA Cup win over Sheffield United via a stoppage-time leveller in front of the live BBC cameras.
An emotional Reynolds was famously on the verge of tears when addressing the players in the dressing room after that 3-3 draw in January 2023, so Saturday’s late, late leveller by Cambridge is unlikely to have unduly fazed the Canadian.
Nevertheless, it was a timely reminder as to how nothing can be taken for granted despite a hugely encouraging return to League One in which Wrexham have collected 41 points from their opening 20 fixtures.
The hosts were guilty of making way too many unforced errors, though, especially at the back, where a usually reliable unit found it tough going against a hard-working Cambridge outfit who spoilt Reynolds’ first return to the SToK Cae Ras since the opening-day win over Wycombe Wanderers, the team now top of the league.
Former Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria brought an additional slice of Hollywood glamour on that August afternoon, whereas this time it was Magic Mike star Tatum.
Joining the pair, who are believed to be in the UK to film an advertisement for next year’s Super Bowl, to push Wrexham’s celebrity count even higher was Green Day lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong and Brandon Sklenar, who starred in It Ends With Us alongside Reynolds’ wife, Blake Lively.
The fun had started early on the Friday night when Reynolds had been joined by Tatum and Sklenar at The Fat Boar pub, where Wrexham’s players had celebrated those back-to-back promotions.
Diolch x 🤝🏴🇨🇦🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/Hysr9U3QtC
— Fat Boar Wxm (@FatBoarWXM) December 13, 2024
Extra security had to be drafted in after word quickly spread about the pub’s surprise guests, who had arrived shortly after 8pm via a back entrance. An hour or so later, those hoping for a glimpse of the stars got their wish as Reynolds, Tatum and co finished their meal before heading downstairs into the main bar.
The Deadpool star then took the mic to explain why he was having an early night. “I have four kids and this is a night off where I just get to go to bed when I want to,” he said, “which I’m very excited about.”
Before leaving, Reynolds revealed he had bought everyone in the bar a drink before quipping how Fat Boar part-owner Rich Watkin “might be bussing in another hundred people as we speak, but that’s fine”.
Speaking to The Athletic after a whirlwind 24 hours, Watkin said: “For the last four years, people have asked if Ryan had ever been in the pub. But I’d always thought, ‘I don’t see how he could come’. Logistically, it would be a nightmare.
“In fairness to Ryan, though, he found a way of doing it brilliantly on Friday. We got basically no notice he was coming. We got the call just 20 minutes before they were due and it worked superbly.
“A visit like Friday was a reminder of just how lucky we are as a town. We can be a bit blase. Ryan or Rob are there in the stand and it feels totally normal. Even though it’s anything but, really.
“Then, though, suddenly Ryan’s sitting in your restaurant and the rest of the building has this energised feel. That’s when you appreciate just how lucky we are as a town and club.
“The buzz about him just being there was incredible, even among those who are not football fans. He didn’t have to do what he did, by coming downstairs to see everyone. He could have left the way he arrived, via the back door.
“This was the bit that really impressed me, as it would have been so easy to do that and leave with no fuss. But Ryan took the decision to walk downstairs to wish everyone ‘Happy Christmas’.”
Refreshed by an early night, Reynolds was joined by Tatum the following morning at the park named in his honour as a birthday gift from co-owner McElhenney. Then came a flying visit to the Zerno Ukrainian Cafe on the High Street before the group finished their mini-tour at The Turf pub, where the mood was confident that another chapter in Wrexham’s success story was about to be written in front of the club’s co-owner.
Instead, Cambridge ripped up the script with a Hollywood ending of their own to leave Reynolds and co frustrated.
(Top photo: Richard Sutcliffe/The Athletic)
