- By Dafydd Pritchard
- ` Sport Wales at Stok Racecourse
16 minutes ago
image source, Getty Images
picture description,
The racecourse is the oldest international football stadium in the world still in use, having hosted a Wales game for the first time in 1877
As dusk falls in Wrexham, the sun peeks through the hazy purple sky behind the racecourse; a storied old football club that appears in a new light.
After 15 years of slumbering in the wilderness outside of the league, Wrexham has awoken from its slumber among Hollywood owners. Their return to the Football League is a story to be told to the world.
And on Tuesday evening, as night falls, the glare gets brighter again as the club’s new floodlights spring into action.
There is something special about night games, sports under the lights has a unique magic. From the anticipation of hitting the ground to the sights and sounds of a stadium under cover of darkness, these games are just different.
Wrexham expected. City have celebrated promotion and welcomed the return of league football and now want their club to win a game at this level for the first time since 2008.
The turf expects that too. This pub next to the racecourse is a shrine to Wrexham.
There are memorabilia everywhere, there are pictures of manager Phil Parkinson and striker Paul Mullin behind the bar, staff wear replica shirts and one even wears a Wrexham badge sticker on his head.
One wall is adorned with references to historical encounters, such as the 1976 European Cup Winners’ Cup quarter-finals vs. Anderlecht, as well as other, more playful suggestions of Hartlepool vs. Deadpool.
On an evening like this, there is a hustle and bustle here. Inside and outside the 180 year old pub there is excited chatter from fans and equally excited chanting from a group of deaf fans.
If you hit the turf in recent years, you’ll likely hear the American accent as well as the local twang on occasion. Thanks to the Welcome to Wrexham documentary, this pub is now a tourist attraction.
Ditto for the club and stadium, which were again sold out for tonight’s League Two game against Walsall.
image source, Getty Images
picture description,
The Wrexham players celebrate their third goal in Tuesday’s 4-2 win against Walsall
The noise is exciting. The tech end bounces as fans holler together in front of a mural of owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. Two and a half years later, it still doesn’t feel quite real.
This is the kind of game a fan lives for: fast-paced football and a passionate atmosphere, entertainment that means something and pulls you in.
You can’t take your eyes off a game at this pace, with chances for both sides, intense tackles and six goals.
Why did two global movie stars buy a minor division football club? Watch a game like this, football at its most exhilarating, and you’ll get a good idea of why. It’s captivating, it’s insane, it’s addictive.
You can see why new audiences are getting into this madness. Wrexham raised eyebrows when they traveled to the United States on their pre-season tour to play Chelsea and Manchester United this summer, but it made more sense when you saw the thousands of Wrexham shirts in North Carolina and California.
Now these converts journey to the source of their newfound passion.
After the chaos of the Walsall game subsided and the majority of the sell-out crowd left their seats, a few spectators stayed behind to enjoy what had happened.
A young American couple, both wearing Wrexham jerseys, pose together for a photo taken by an elderly local fan who smiles to himself as he holds the phone up and can hardly imagine his club’s now global fame is.
Shortly after their departure, when the groundskeepers have tended the field and the matchday staff have made their way home, the floodlights slowly go out.
The racecourse is shrouded in the darkness of the night and growing black, ready to do it all again on Saturday.
Comments are closed.