‘I went to a Wrexham supporters bar in New York and Ryan Reynolds has changed the game’
I went to an official Wrexham supporters bar in New York City to see just how much the team has grown and check out how fans overseas treat the Welsh Club like their own
Three years ago, if you were abroad and asked a sports bar if they’re showing the Wrexham game it’s likely that no one would have even heard of the team, let alone shown their games live.
But the last 36 months of Wrexham’s recent history have been unprecedented, and now the team from North Wales have millions of fans around the world. The arrival of Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney has put the club on the map, and their award-winning docu-series “Welcome to Wrexham” has made them as popular as some elite Premier League teams.
Not only are they now globally relevant, overseas fans have started to genuinely take an interest as if it’s their local team. Now, less than three years after Reynolds and McElhenney purchased the club, there is a dedicated Wrexham Supporters Bar near Times Square, New York.
READ MORE: Will Ferrell makes hilarious Wrexham dressing room cameo as he makes Ryan Reynolds quip
Printers Alley is now the hotspot to watch all Wrexham games in New York, with the bar opening early on matchdays to show the action. Their normal opening hours are 11am – 4am everyday, but they open before 10am on Saturdays to offer breakfast, beers, and football for Wrexham fans.
I was invited down to check it out for myself, and assembled a group of Brits abroad – including a Wrexham fan – to dive into the culture change and experience watching the team at 10am local time. Printers Alley had flags out especially for Wrexham, and a huge screen that streamed the game via iFollow.
For all the latest on news, politics, sports, and showbiz from the USA, go to The Mirror US.
Flags and apparel scattered all around the bar (
Daily Mirror)
Unfortunately I didn’t see a Wrexham win, I actually saw their biggest defeat of the season so far as they lost 5-0 against Stockport County. The mood may have been dampened momentarily, but Wrexham have remained unbeaten since after a minor blip in their season.
As someone that now lives in New York, football – or soccer as they like to call it here – is very different, with ‘lunchtime’ kick offs getting underway at 7:30am. The standard 3pm games are also enjoyed over brunch due to the time difference (five hours behind), and unless it’s a Champions League game, drinking in a bar while watching the football is now a very rare occasion, or so I thought.
Once I got over the initial guilt of having a beer at 10am, or an espresso martini in this scenario, it really felt like I was back in an English bar watching the game with fans. The only difference here is that it’s midday once the game finishes, and then the venue turns into a college football bar.
There are some huge fan bases that the Printers Alley get behind, as they’re now proudly supporting Wrexham, college team Tennessee, and NFL franchise the Pittsburgh Steelers. They have a dedicated game day menu, and a dangerous happy hour that runs from 11-7 meaning you can enjoy the experience at a very fair price.
