AFC Wrexham, in the 5th divison of English football, who Deadpool actor Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney took over, made it through to the first round of the FA Cup after beating Blyth Spartans 3-2. 7,000 fans attended the replay, which had questionnable banners from the away fans and it was a tense victory all the way to the end.
Among the first bits of good news that Ryan Reynolds' AFC Wrexham got was the attention brought by the TV, despite playing in the fifth tier. ESPN wanted to show their FA Cup qualifying match against Blyth Spartans, and it was a success in every sense of the word for the club.
To start with, they won. They had to do it after a replay because they drew the first leg 1-1. In the return game, a 3-2 victory was enough to see them through to the first round of the cup. There was a lot of tension: it went from 3-0 to 3-2 and the last moments were heart-in-the-mouth stuff.
7,000 fans were packed in to a stadium which has already been leased for 25 years, which shows the fans that the new owners are in it for the long run. Additionally, the fact the game was on TV attracted a lot of attention on social media as well, where the humblest sport enjoyed a lot of time under the spotlights.
There were also some odd moments. Some Blyth Spartans fans, aware that Wrexham has been bought by the Deadpool actor, used that as inspiration for a perculiar banner. "Ready your breakfast and eat hearty, for tonight, we dine in hell", the text said next to a spartan with Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool character's head stabbed on the end.