Towards the end of the season and n American sports it is better for teams to lose because of your not going to win the title then the lower down the league you are the better draft picks you get at the end of the season. As a Brit when I was in the US I was shocked to see a fan of a team happy when his team where losing at the end of the season.
Very often at the end of the season the bottom table matches are way more exciting than the title race. Especially here in Germany where often it's a one horse race at the top. Then you also have the fight for the qualification spots for Champions League and also Europa League. So even the upper mid-table games matter a lot.
As a resident of Wrexham, it is absolutely surreal to see and hear this town (soon to be city) being talked about worldwide. Rob & Ryan have genuinely brought so much warmth and pride to Wrexham over the last year or so, both around the football club and the wider community. You won't hear about most of the quiet charitable donations that both of the stars have made to people in need locally, but they really have helped change lives here. So glad you guys are enjoying the ride so far, and don't worry, there's plenty more ups and downs to come in the series!
Great show guys. I'm actually from Wrexham & spent my formative years there until I went to college. I love the fact that you 'get it'. It's a small, v unfashionable post-industrial era town. The only thing to do at weekends is follow the fortunes of Wrexham AFC.
Hey, football is an international language and the most popular sport in the world. It’s about time you all caught up over there! American sports can be fun, but no punishment for being the worst makes it dull. Here in the uk, if you finish the league last it’s all F***ed. You lose money and get relegated from that devision. You will never truly love sport until you embrace it. The rest of the world can’t be wrong! Buy into it
We’ll never love a sport until you embrace it? So by embrace do you mean grown men should form gangs and beat each other up in the stands and outside? You make me not want to watch soccer with that attitude🍕💩
Here in the Nederlands football(not soccer😡🙂) is everything, for some it's even a little bit a religion. Where I come from there is a saying: "We don't have Fans, We have Supporters!". Stay Healthy and Amazing👍🏾
Hi John, big fan here from...Wrexham 😁 There are 16 episodes and you won't believe the journey the team is about to go on. Ryan and Rob have been incredible with the team and the community ...both giving amazing donations to causes in the town and to its people. Get Ryan to send you some gear and check up on us from time to time....if you want more info I'd be glad to help Wait til you see the trip to Wembley stadium with Beckham and Will Ferrell 😱😱😱
In the UK, if a place has “ham” at the end of the name, generally speaking, it is pronounced “um”. So it’s pronounced “wrexum” or “birmingum” or “Clapum”.
@@nicolajohnson1887 it's called association rules football. Which can be shortened to either soccer or football. There are other rules of football, gaelic, aussie rules, rugby, gridiron... Football is the name for a ball game played on foot, rather than on horseback.
European football fans love the tiered league system you mentioned. Unfortunately, the owners of some of the bigger clubs in the European leagues have been conspiring to introduce a North American style system thats locked off to the smaller football clubs.
It's not just a town that'll hate them, if they screw over a football club, no matter the size of the club, it'll be the whole UK, and because of their fame, potentially across Europe. Rivalry gets put aside when we see poor handling of an institution like our clubs, that they are the custodians of, not owners, the fans own the clubs, the fans were there before, during and after their time as 'owners'. They better not fuck with Wrexham, otherwise people will want their heads.
Being from Wales it's cool seeing you talk about the area because of this and learn something about football/soccer. Especially in the way of like you said American sports can learn a lot from how they do the leagues. Even football in the US league uses a system where if you win every game you don't win the league and that's just odd
I truly missed Wales. I lived there for 2 years when I did my master's in Swansea Uni. Welsh people are the coolest and the scenery was absolutely stunning! I love everything about it except the weather of course. Didn't know much about football craze in the North but they loveeeeee Rugby like no others.
The documentary was a nice gateway drug to soccer but there are so many more incredible documentaries on soccer. Sunderland till I die is the documentary that Ryan Reynolds watched that made him buy the Wrexham team. You also have Diego Maradona documentary that Martin Scorsese said is his favourite sports documentary. Take Us Home: Leeds Utd narrated by Russell Crowe. Next Goal Wins, which Taika Waititi is making a soccer comedy movie based around this documentary. All of Nothing Manchester City, Tottenham and Arsenal narrated by Ben Kingsley, Tom Hardy and Daniel Kaluuya. Aaron Rogers and Tom Brady are said to have watched these documentaries and become hardcore soccer fans because of it. The ones I mentioned are even better than this one.
I think someone said Wrexham had had 14 years of failure - not so, there are 24 clubs in the National League, and only two of them can get promoted to League Two every year, it’s DIFFICULT to get promoted! I was born in Wrexham and have followed the clubs’ fortunes more or less since the 60s, back then in the 60s and 70s Wrexham usually played in the 4th tier of football (what’s called League Two nowadays) or the 3rd tier (League One), but for a few years in the 80s they actually played in the 2nd tier (todays’ Championship). The club also has a history of giant-killing performances in the FA Cup (famously beating Arsenal, rather to everyone’s’ surprise), and they also used to regularly qualify to play in the European Cup-Winners’ Cup by winning the Welsh Cup, I remember them playing Hajduk Split from Croatia (Yugoslavia as it was then), and Anderlecht from Belgium.
If you think the results seem scripted for Hollywood you're about to sh*t your pants in disbelief. I hope you continue to cover the show to it's conclusion. Best wishes x.
Football(soccer) has SO many AMAZING stories that are being left untold on the big screen. The details are vague but if memory serves me right there was a game between Scotland vs England that had so much riding on it, it literally prevented actual conflict between the two nations. Correct me if I'm wrong on that, don't trust my memory to much on that one. The game between England vs Argentina though, damn... it's a crime that game doesn't have a movie.
Umm, no, England and Scotland don’t operate separate foreign policies. Football was the proximate cause (a World Cup Qualification play-off) of a 4-day war between Honduras and El Salvador in 1969 which killed around 3000 people (there were other reasons for the war too) - that was the last war in which piston-engined planes fought each other.
Welshman here with no care for hollywood or tv, but if you like those, no issues, we each choose what we like, Ryan and Rob have done a good thing, with no condescendion, no arrogance, and, I know theyre actors but I detected genuine hope fear humility and humanity from both, I wish them well. Also I dont care if you call it soccer or football. Have a great day, I enjoyed listening to your engaging discussion. God bless you all.
american sports should have adopted the relegation,promotion league system a long time ago . gives the sport as a whole a new level of excitment and tension because you are rewarded when your team plays well.
Great review John. Hearing North Americans discuss this slightly alien thing called 'soccer' is a reminder that, despite the world becoming smaller, the USA still exists in something of a sporting bubble! Lol, What are you guys doing over there...?! Maybe 'Ted Lasso' and 'Welcome to Wrexham' will help USA sports fans get a handle on how soccer actually works on (and off) the pitch ... AND may challenge the American perception of long, drawn-out, low-scoring games that soccer still has over there. Though these trepidations aren't entirely unfounded, they are often undeserved. Put simply: when teams are evenly matched (as most are in their leagues/tiers) games are played on a constant 'knife-edge'. There's a gnawing tension provided by the long-form stand-off in 'European Football' that doesn't exist in quite the same way in American sports. It has been likened to addictive, high-stakes gambling because of the risks involved: a player pulled out of position here.... and the team are punished, a risky flash of individualistic brilliance there... and everything can change in an instant - over a barely interrupted 90 minutes. This is slightly different to Basketball and American Football, where there are plays at guaranteed intervals, lots of points and tactical breaks (great for commercials!). So there is more of a 'quick fix' rush in those games whereas soccer is more of a balancing act... on a tightrope... while juggling... without hands! Add the global appreciation and competition and you've got something, that for many, is a religion. There, that's my brief summation of soccer for the comments section. Now I need to go and watch She-Hulk to get my nerd cred back up!
It’s the same situation in Australia where soccer is 3rd or 4th most popular. It’s just very very hard for the general population to fully embrace a sport when there’s faster and more physical sports already entrenched in society. Plus the time difference is a killer trying to watch EPL
@@Francescojg Good point. I’ve also heard the argument that soccer seems less physical because the game is constantly ongoing. If anyone has tried running for 90 mins, they’ll understand why soccer teams have tactical ‘shapes’ on the pitch, etc. Stamina is essential and games often become more exciting and unpredictable when teams gradually wear down. But perception is everything, I guess. And In soccer, less is more…. if you’ve got a match that finishes 10-0, chances are that the actual game has not been that involved … but to non-soccer fans this will paradoxically seem more exciting! 🙄. I would conclude by saying it’s a ‘hard sell’ but it’s popularity in the rest of the world suggests that people do get it! 😂. I could waffle on about this for ages…. but I’ll spare everyone!👍⚽️
@@Tomurow that’s what I’m saying that it’s probably very very hard for Americans to adjust and find the appreciation. I can only speak as an Australian that follows a sport where teams will score goals 10/15 times each in a match and is a lot more fast pace and very physical in contact. Plus the diving and the carrying on if the soccer players make contact is a very very hard sell to a viewer that’s isn’t used to seeing that behaviour. I love my EPL but I can’t deny it’s flaws in comparison to other domestic sports
One more plus point for soccer is that it doesn’t always favour the larger athlete. You can be as diminutive as Messi or Maradona or as tall as Ibrahimovic and still be the ‘best in the world’!🤔
Your finally getting the power of football (soccer). Its more than just a game, its about pride and passion. One result can dictate how your mood will be for the entire week. Rob and Ryan understand this and its great to see. My team (Plymouth Argyle) play 2 levels above Wrexham and we have just had American investors (Victor Hedman and Ondrej Palat) from the NHL
So interesting to see the reaction to relegation/promotion! It's a big part of what makes the sport interesting and dramatic. I'm always surprised when Americans haven't heard of the concept!
These shows are pretty popular here in the UK. On Prime video there is a series called all or nothing following specific teams for one "soccer" season. I believe they followed the saints for a season as well over in the US
@@Delboy0 the perm is nothing compared to the champions league. If you like the perm, try watching the champions league because it’s a whole different level (And it’s football)
@@allencarnes2477 Im surprised that football isnt that popular in States. I mean, it is by far, far far far biggest sport on planet. No sport comes even remotely close
they don’t have leagues in us soccer or even american football because it would mean people would earn less money if they got relegated. There’s no ambition
Michael Davies the British US TV executive who created shows like Who wants to be a million and the housewives shows and hired Jimmy Kimmel to be a late night host said there is a massive conspiracy in the USA media in cahoots with the traditional American sports leagues to not give soccer the same level of coverage in the US media as the other sports, because there is a fear of soccer gets the same level of coverage and oxygen it will take over, like it did in Korea and Japan. All the networks have shares in the traditional American sports league so don’t want to hurt their own self interest by giving soccer more coverage. The FIFA videos games has been teaching the young Americans the nuances of the sport, which is why soccer is now the number 2 sport for Americans under 30. And with shows like this and Ted Lasso showing the older generation the nuances of soccer people are realising why the sport is the number 1 most popular sport by a long long way across the planet. As soon as Americans under the nuances of the sport they quickly realise how unauthentic and crap American sport is.
For sure, a lot of them wouldn't like a non American sport dominating here Yeah if USA does good in the World Cup and the younger generations start getting invested it's taking over, this sport is addictive
@@haitiankid9456 Yeah soccer is growing fast as it becomes more accessible to Americans. 1 thanks to the video game FIFA which outsells madden in the USA so the younger generation understand the game. It is the only sport whose TV ratings are going up in the USA. The USA game vs Portugal in World Cup 2014 is the second most watched sporting event in USA tv outside of the Super Bowls in the last 10 years and Euros 2021 final got more viewers than the NBA finals in the USA sin the same year with no rooting interest. Yet the media still treat soccer like a minor sport, by design. The USA vs England World Cup game is going to shatter records for TV viewers for soccer on thanksgiving day. What these anti soccer Americans are dreading is the World Cup coming to the USA in 2026. They will be forced to give soccer mainstream coverage and they USA have a talented team that will just explode in the USA when Americans experience it on their front door step
@@Delboy0 can't wait for these greedy corporate heads to lose to the best sport itw, although knowing them when it truly takes over they'll try to milk it dry as well.... One of the most important parts will be instoring the sport into the culture so it's a part of new generations growing up
John FX filmed in my home studio for this series last year, they filmed and documented my good friend who is a super Football Wrexham fan. Part of that was 1 day in my music studio, We made a little video for my RUclips and we had their full crew on site filming us (was a little nervous when 3 vans of filming crew turned up at my home haha) :) hopefully we make the finally cut, my friend Wince is abit of a character you see, hes the guy in Ep2 that said "That manager needs to F#*king go" haha, hes the one sitting in room with all the Wrehxam flags and trophies, i wouldnt be surprisedif one episode focuses on the fans and him, you can find me under X-Fada Studios, ad I've followed you since the AMC days it's mad to see you talking about my home town!!! :D keep an eye out for our episode
@@kitty6720 American football is rugby in all but name actual football is played by the whole world and is played with your feet hence the name football, also why the silly helmets and pads, from what I can see they cause more injuries not less, and what's with the world series of baseball, that is odd.
@@ibekingape We also made the word football... you know the English language from England. 6 billion people call football football. More people play rugby over all those fake versions of rugby.
I am a massive NFL fan (only 8 days to go) but let’s face it it should be called throw catch ball. Football in the rest of the world is called football because you play it with your feet
I’ve been saying for so many years while we have had films like Bend It Like Beckham and the GOAL film series, I don’t think football (not soccer) has had the respect in deserves in terms of in Hollywood productions. You see so many inspiring movies and series on basketball and baseball players and clubs but you never see as much for, what is factually proven to be the most popular sport in the world. I really give full credit to Ryan Reynolds who is using his Star power to bring non football fans like John into the world of the beautiful game. And if you’re like John and not into football and you really like the Wrexham documentary, may I also recommend the Sunderland Till I Die documentary and the Diego Maradona documentary on Netflix.
I love how he asked someone else who also didn't know. They came to a mutually incorrect mispronunciation, then agreed there was no problem in the first place. All in like a couple seconds. I see this stuff happen all the time. Humans are weird.
My hope is this show opens American eyes to promotion/relegation which is the structure of professional soccer everywhere but this country. It adds so much to the drama and because these clubs start at under-12 years old…you follow your local kids who then become stars. It’s like American HS football, college, and NFL all in one sport. If we move to promotion/relegation and people support their local clubs, soccer will blow up in the United States. It needs to be demanded though because the greedy billionaires in MLS won’t vote for it unless it’s forced on them.
Just curious does anyone outside the US see people playing american football in their countries? I'm brazillian and only saw their ball once in uni were people were throwing it, besides that nothing. It likes the sport doesn't exist.
I'd don't think so. At least in Europe. I'm from Spain and I like American football, but no one is playing it. There's certain fan base but Europe is more about Rugby. Its not like basketball which has its own leagues everywhere... Also there's the handicap of time difference. There are people here who loves NBA, NFL and even NHL, but there's no way to follow them because when they play it here's 0:00 to 5:00 a.m. 😓
It makes more sense to call what américans call soccer football then what they call football football Because in "soccer" or Real football You play with feet
There are loads of types of football. Rugby, gaelic, aussie, gridiron. Football was called football because it was a ballgame played on foot, rather than horse back. Soccer is an abbreviation of association rules football. A name invented by the british who invented the game.
Good if you like football. Surprised they followed the players home, it showed the town and how poor it is.. then Ryan and Rob sack most of the team for failing to make the playoffs.. they don’t come across great, but glad they showed it in the documentary and they didn’t gloss over it.
@@AmandaFromWisconsin are the other two from Canada too? Suppose we use it as a general term for people from north America here. But apologies if I caused offense. No harm meant.
Football (no, real football that you play WITH YOUR FEET) is so much more-entertaining than watching a bunch of NFL cementheads knock into each other. I can see why American NFL supporters are so insecure about a sport that's much better than theirs (and made up entirely of athletes). North Americans have been indoctrinated into the thought that real football is boring, but will happily watch golf, baseball, Nascar or NFL. I'm afraid that corporate America has fooled fans into sitting in front of the tube for 3-4 hours to watch sports with endless delays and COMMERCIAL BREAKS. Somehow their attention span can't handle 45 minutes of play, a 15-minute break then another 45 minutes of play?⚽⚽⚽
@@CJ-BZ There is nothing snobbish about it , you would be laughed at in Britain if you call it soccer, It's the number one sport in the world, It's called football in near enough every country in the world , this is a documentary about a Welsh / British football club
@@Fcvidal3 who cares what other people call it or who laughs? if you’re not in that setting its ok to call it what your culture calls it. Nobody gets mad at Italians for calling it calcio, but god forbid we call the game what we’ve BEEN calling it since before most of “the world” were still colonies. mind you, the innits are the ones who came up with the name “soccer” 😂
I’m from Wrexham and only one team gets automatically promoted the team that finishes first. Then the teams that finish between second to fifth qualify for the playoffs and the winner of those gets promoted also
![Lethal Company Music Video 🎵 "Follow The Orders" [VERSION A]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/QeooZB4Z7RA/mqdefault.jpg)
The tiered system in football is the best thing about it. Success gets rightfully rewarded and failure has major, sometimes fatal, consequences.
Towards the end of the season and n American sports it is better for teams to lose because of your not going to win the title then the lower down the league you are the better draft picks you get at the end of the season. As a Brit when I was in the US I was shocked to see a fan of a team happy when his team where losing at the end of the season.
@@Ginric99 that’s so weird
@@Ginric99 that's why NFL has no atmosphere, nothing to play for
Very often at the end of the season the bottom table matches are way more exciting than the title race. Especially here in Germany where often it's a one horse race at the top. Then you also have the fight for the qualification spots for Champions League and also Europa League. So even the upper mid-table games matter a lot.
To quote the great Bill Shankly (Liverpool legend). "Football is not a matter of life or death. It is much more important than that."
As a resident of Wrexham, it is absolutely surreal to see and hear this town (soon to be city) being talked about worldwide. Rob & Ryan have genuinely brought so much warmth and pride to Wrexham over the last year or so, both around the football club and the wider community.
You won't hear about most of the quiet charitable donations that both of the stars have made to people in need locally, but they really have helped change lives here.
So glad you guys are enjoying the ride so far, and don't worry, there's plenty more ups and downs to come in the series!
I live in Wrexham and we all love Rob and Ryan for what they have done coyr!!!!
Great show guys. I'm actually from Wrexham & spent my formative years there until I went to college. I love the fact that you 'get it'. It's a small, v unfashionable post-industrial era town. The only thing to do at weekends is follow the fortunes of Wrexham AFC.
I am from wrexham what ryan and rob have done is incredible they are what all football clubs need. I couldnt praise them enough
The tier system in football is what makes it the best sport in the world.
Hey, football is an international language and the most popular sport in the world. It’s about time you all caught up over there! American sports can be fun, but no punishment for being the worst makes it dull. Here in the uk, if you finish the league last it’s all F***ed. You lose money and get relegated from that devision. You will never truly love sport until you embrace it. The rest of the world can’t be wrong! Buy into it
Fuck every sport lol
Big Arsenal fan here.
This was hilarious 😂😂 btw this comment and this show consider me bought in, not sure what team to root for tho 🤔
We’ll never love a sport until you embrace it? So by embrace do you mean grown men should form gangs and beat each other up in the stands and outside? You make me not want to watch soccer with that attitude🍕💩
It’s so funny, football (and most league based sports in Europe and the rest of the world) is pure capitalism, but American sports are communism.
Here in the Nederlands football(not soccer😡🙂) is everything, for some it's even a little bit a religion.
Where I come from there is a saying: "We don't have Fans, We have Supporters!".
Stay Healthy and Amazing👍🏾
My hometown! It’s done a lot for my area. Glad people can see what’s happening
I started following the team. They did pretty well last season from what I saw.
@@Exaldear yeah they did well but the season ended in tragedy
Between _Ted Lasso_ on Apple TV+ and _Welcome to Wrexham_ USAmericans have no more excuses to not get into football like the rest of the entire world!
Hi John, big fan here from...Wrexham 😁
There are 16 episodes and you won't believe the journey the team is about to go on. Ryan and Rob have been incredible with the team and the community ...both giving amazing donations to causes in the town and to its people. Get Ryan to send you some gear and check up on us from time to time....if you want more info I'd be glad to help
Wait til you see the trip to Wembley stadium with Beckham and Will Ferrell 😱😱😱
I’m a Wrexham girl. So proud 🙌🏼
Enjoyed the show, thank you for featuring our club in wales, have supported them for 30 years and nice to see others enjoying the documentary
In the UK, if a place has “ham” at the end of the name, generally speaking, it is pronounced “um”.
So it’s pronounced “wrexum” or “birmingum” or “Clapum”.
Or am
Weird seeing you speak of my hometown coming up after all these years of watching
It’s nice to see North Americans start to see the drama within football/soccer, why we love it so much.
I’ve always been fascinated by the tier system in English soccer. I wish they implemented a similar thing here in America with the MLS.
Every town could have their own team.
It's called football.
@@nicolajohnson1887 it's called association rules football. Which can be shortened to either soccer or football. There are other rules of football, gaelic, aussie rules, rugby, gridiron...
Football is the name for a ball game played on foot, rather than on horseback.
@@lilbaz8073 god you "it's association football therefore soccer" guys are frigging tedious. The game is football unless you're a Yank
To avoid confusion between Football and American Football, just call the American game 'Hand Egg' :D
Bang on 😂
Dear lord, the last few episodes of Wrexham are sooooo good.
European football fans love the tiered league system you mentioned. Unfortunately, the owners of some of the bigger clubs in the European leagues have been conspiring to introduce a North American style system thats locked off to the smaller football clubs.
It's already like that they just wanted to take it up another notch and the fans revolted and they had to back down, for now.
Love soccer. Love Ryan Reynolds. This show had me from the first ad I saw for it. Best sport in the world
It's not just a town that'll hate them, if they screw over a football club, no matter the size of the club, it'll be the whole UK, and because of their fame, potentially across Europe.
Rivalry gets put aside when we see poor handling of an institution like our clubs, that they are the custodians of, not owners, the fans own the clubs, the fans were there before, during and after their time as 'owners'. They better not fuck with Wrexham, otherwise people will want their heads.
Being from Wales it's cool seeing you talk about the area because of this and learn something about football/soccer. Especially in the way of like you said American sports can learn a lot from how they do the leagues. Even football in the US league uses a system where if you win every game you don't win the league and that's just odd
I truly missed Wales. I lived there for 2 years when I did my master's in Swansea Uni. Welsh people are the coolest and the scenery was absolutely stunning! I love everything about it except the weather of course. Didn't know much about football craze in the North but they loveeeeee Rugby like no others.
The documentary was a nice gateway drug to soccer but there are so many more incredible documentaries on soccer. Sunderland till I die is the documentary that Ryan Reynolds watched that made him buy the Wrexham team. You also have Diego Maradona documentary that Martin Scorsese said is his favourite sports documentary. Take Us Home: Leeds Utd narrated by Russell Crowe. Next Goal Wins, which Taika Waititi is making a soccer comedy movie based around this documentary. All of Nothing Manchester City, Tottenham and Arsenal narrated by Ben Kingsley, Tom Hardy and Daniel Kaluuya. Aaron Rogers and Tom Brady are said to have watched these documentaries and become hardcore soccer fans because of it. The ones I mentioned are even better than this one.
I think someone said Wrexham had had 14 years of failure - not so, there are 24 clubs in the National League, and only two of them can get promoted to League Two every year, it’s DIFFICULT to get promoted! I was born in Wrexham and have followed the clubs’ fortunes more or less since the 60s, back then in the 60s and 70s Wrexham usually played in the 4th tier of football (what’s called League Two nowadays) or the 3rd tier (League One), but for a few years in the 80s they actually played in the 2nd tier (todays’ Championship). The club also has a history of giant-killing performances in the FA Cup (famously beating Arsenal, rather to everyone’s’ surprise), and they also used to regularly qualify to play in the European Cup-Winners’ Cup by winning the Welsh Cup, I remember them playing Hajduk Split from Croatia (Yugoslavia as it was then), and Anderlecht from Belgium.
The oldest stadium that hosts international matches. Its not the oldest stadium
If you think the results seem scripted for Hollywood you're about to sh*t your pants in disbelief. I hope you continue to cover the show to it's conclusion. Best wishes x.
Football(soccer) has SO many AMAZING stories that are being left untold on the big screen. The details are vague but if memory serves me right there was a game between Scotland vs England that had so much riding on it, it literally prevented actual conflict between the two nations. Correct me if I'm wrong on that, don't trust my memory to much on that one. The game between England vs Argentina though, damn... it's a crime that game doesn't have a movie.
Umm, no, England and Scotland don’t operate separate foreign policies. Football was the proximate cause (a World Cup Qualification play-off) of a 4-day war between Honduras and El Salvador in 1969 which killed around 3000 people (there were other reasons for the war too) - that was the last war in which piston-engined planes fought each other.
Welshman here with no care for hollywood or tv, but if you like those, no issues, we each choose what we like, Ryan and Rob have done a good thing, with no condescendion, no arrogance, and, I know theyre actors but I detected genuine hope fear humility and humanity from both, I wish them well. Also I dont care if you call it soccer or football.
Have a great day, I enjoyed listening to your engaging discussion.
God bless you all.
It’s called football champ, no worries.
american sports should have adopted the relegation,promotion league system a long time ago . gives the sport as a whole a new level of excitment and tension because you are rewarded when your team plays well.
Great review John. Hearing North Americans discuss this slightly alien thing called 'soccer' is a reminder that, despite the world becoming smaller, the USA still exists in something of a sporting bubble! Lol, What are you guys doing over there...?! Maybe 'Ted Lasso' and 'Welcome to Wrexham' will help USA sports fans get a handle on how soccer actually works on (and off) the pitch ... AND may challenge the American perception of long, drawn-out, low-scoring games that soccer still has over there. Though these trepidations aren't entirely unfounded, they are often undeserved.
Put simply: when teams are evenly matched (as most are in their leagues/tiers) games are played on a constant 'knife-edge'. There's a gnawing tension provided by the long-form stand-off in 'European Football' that doesn't exist in quite the same way in American sports. It has been likened to addictive, high-stakes gambling because of the risks involved: a player pulled out of position here.... and the team are punished, a risky flash of individualistic brilliance there... and everything can change in an instant - over a barely interrupted 90 minutes. This is slightly different to Basketball and American Football, where there are plays at guaranteed intervals, lots of points and tactical breaks (great for commercials!). So there is more of a 'quick fix' rush in those games whereas soccer is more of a balancing act... on a tightrope... while juggling... without hands! Add the global appreciation and competition and you've got something, that for many, is a religion.
There, that's my brief summation of soccer for the comments section. Now I need to go and watch She-Hulk to get my nerd cred back up!
It’s the same situation in Australia where soccer is 3rd or 4th most popular. It’s just very very hard for the general population to fully embrace a sport when there’s faster and more physical sports already entrenched in society. Plus the time difference is a killer trying to watch EPL
@@Francescojg Good point. I’ve also heard the argument that soccer seems less physical because the game is constantly ongoing. If anyone has tried running for 90 mins, they’ll understand why soccer teams have tactical ‘shapes’ on the pitch, etc. Stamina is essential and games often become more exciting and unpredictable when teams gradually wear down. But perception is everything, I guess. And In soccer, less is more…. if you’ve got a match that finishes 10-0, chances are that the actual game has not been that involved … but to non-soccer fans this will paradoxically seem more exciting! 🙄. I would conclude by saying it’s a ‘hard sell’ but it’s popularity in the rest of the world suggests that people do get it! 😂.
I could waffle on about this for ages…. but I’ll spare everyone!👍⚽️
@@Tomurow that’s what I’m saying that it’s probably very very hard for Americans to adjust and find the appreciation. I can only speak as an Australian that follows a sport where teams will score goals 10/15 times each in a match and is a lot more fast pace and very physical in contact. Plus the diving and the carrying on if the soccer players make contact is a very very hard sell to a viewer that’s isn’t used to seeing that behaviour. I love my EPL but I can’t deny it’s flaws in comparison to other domestic sports
@@Francescojg yeah, the ‘professional’ diving is a curse on the game for sure!🙄
One more plus point for soccer is that it doesn’t always favour the larger athlete. You can be as diminutive as Messi or Maradona or as tall as Ibrahimovic and still be the ‘best in the world’!🤔
Your finally getting the power of football (soccer). Its more than just a game, its about pride and passion. One result can dictate how your mood will be for the entire week. Rob and Ryan understand this and its great to see. My team (Plymouth Argyle) play 2 levels above Wrexham and we have just had American investors (Victor Hedman and Ondrej Palat) from the NHL
Wrexham is said as REX-UM not REX HAAAIIRM
Nfl sleeping on tier/division system
Or a cup. I’d love to see them include a cup competition
Nah they don't want to do that cause the care about money not passion and hey don't wanne see their investment take a hit by being relegated.
This needs further translation...
Game = Match
Team = Club
Field = Pitch
Team is different from club
So interesting to see the reaction to relegation/promotion! It's a big part of what makes the sport interesting and dramatic. I'm always surprised when Americans haven't heard of the concept!
This and Ted Lasso are great ambassadors for the sport!
Hi John and team. It's pronounced 'Wrex-hm' and not 'Wrex-ham' 😂
Love your show. BOTF
These shows are pretty popular here in the UK. On Prime video there is a series called all or nothing following specific teams for one "soccer" season. I believe they followed the saints for a season as well over in the US
Watch the Champions League. The greatest competition in the world
The greatest sport in the world.
That is the Premier League the NBA of soccer
@@Delboy0 the perm is nothing compared to the champions league. If you like the perm, try watching the champions league because it’s a whole different level (And it’s football)
@@tomas.lambert Premier League not the perm is the most watched sports league in the world for a reason above NBA, NFL and Champions League.
@@Delboy0 sorry I meant the prem. Doesn’t mean it’s better than the champions league
It's football. It's the most popular sport in the world. And the MLS in the U.S. is continually growing and becoming more popular.
@@allencarnes2477 Im surprised that football isnt that popular in States. I mean, it is by far, far far far biggest sport on planet. No sport comes even remotely close
This might get me back into watching documentaries again.
they don’t have leagues in us soccer or even american football because it would mean people would earn less money if they got relegated. There’s no ambition
Michael Davies the British US TV executive who created shows like Who wants to be a million and the housewives shows and hired Jimmy Kimmel to be a late night host said there is a massive conspiracy in the USA media in cahoots with the traditional American sports leagues to not give soccer the same level of coverage in the US media as the other sports, because there is a fear of soccer gets the same level of coverage and oxygen it will take over, like it did in Korea and Japan. All the networks have shares in the traditional American sports league so don’t want to hurt their own self interest by giving soccer more coverage. The FIFA videos games has been teaching the young Americans the nuances of the sport, which is why soccer is now the number 2 sport for Americans under 30. And with shows like this and Ted Lasso showing the older generation the nuances of soccer people are realising why the sport is the number 1 most popular sport by a long long way across the planet. As soon as Americans under the nuances of the sport they quickly realise how unauthentic and crap American sport is.
For sure, a lot of them wouldn't like a non American sport dominating here
Yeah if USA does good in the World Cup and the younger generations start getting invested it's taking over, this sport is addictive
@@haitiankid9456 Yeah soccer is growing fast as it becomes more accessible to Americans. 1 thanks to the video game FIFA which outsells madden in the USA so the younger generation understand the game. It is the only sport whose TV ratings are going up in the USA. The USA game vs Portugal in World Cup 2014 is the second most watched sporting event in USA tv outside of the Super Bowls in the last 10 years and Euros 2021 final got more viewers than the NBA finals in the USA sin the same year with no rooting interest. Yet the media still treat soccer like a minor sport, by design. The USA vs England World Cup game is going to shatter records for TV viewers for soccer on thanksgiving day. What these anti soccer Americans are dreading is the World Cup coming to the USA in 2026. They will be forced to give soccer mainstream coverage and they USA have a talented team that will just explode in the USA when Americans experience it on their front door step
@@Delboy0 can't wait for these greedy corporate heads to lose to the best sport itw, although knowing them when it truly takes over they'll try to milk it dry as well....
One of the most important parts will be instoring the sport into the culture so it's a part of new generations growing up
The guys name is pronounced Rob macklehenny
I have really enjoyed it and yeah I am a football fan(well a scunthorpe United fan).
It’s pronounced Rex’m
John FX filmed in my home studio for this series last year, they filmed and documented my good friend who is a super Football Wrexham fan. Part of that was 1 day in my music studio, We made a little video for my RUclips and we had their full crew on site filming us (was a little nervous when 3 vans of filming crew turned up at my home haha) :) hopefully we make the finally cut, my friend Wince is abit of a character you see, hes the guy in Ep2 that said "That manager needs to F#*king go" haha, hes the one sitting in room with all the Wrehxam flags and trophies, i wouldnt be surprisedif one episode focuses on the fans and him, you can find me under X-Fada Studios, ad I've followed you since the AMC days it's mad to see you talking about my home town!!! :D keep an eye out for our episode
Somehow? Cmon John. The only reason it made you care (because it’s the only reason it made me care) was for Ryan and Rob.
1:25 you said it right there!
No shit , best sport in the world
Soccer is amazing. They don't call it the beautiful game for nothing
And they rarely call it soccer ;)
@@eldante4139 rest of the world call it football
Football not "soccer"
FYI, It's Rexum not RexHAM 😉
It's football, what Americans call football is rugby with pads and oversized helmets.
@@kitty6720 American football is rugby in all but name actual football is played by the whole world and is played with your feet hence the name football, also why the silly helmets and pads, from what I can see they cause more injuries not less, and what's with the world series of baseball, that is odd.
@@nicolajohnson1887 What's Google?
@@kitty6720 🙄
@@AmandaFromWisconsin world series of baseball 🤣🤣🤣🤣
@@nicolajohnson1887 i think japan teams play in it? Could be wrong though lol
Football!!!!!!
I don't know if you guys read these comments or not but them buying Wrexham was mentioned in Season 2 of Ted Lasso.
We don't read comments. ;)
@@johncampea Ah shit man. You guys would never find out about this awesome fact I shared then. 😆
If you enjoy this then I highly recommend Sunderland Til I Die on Netflix you will love it.
Love that show
They making season 3 now should be out next year
John, we don’t use the S-word
you made the word soccer from association football... plus the British show Soccer AM
@@ibekingape We also made the word football... you know the English language from England. 6 billion people call football football. More people play rugby over all those fake versions of rugby.
I am a massive NFL fan (only 8 days to go) but let’s face it it should be called throw catch ball. Football in the rest of the world is called football because you play it with your feet
*Except in Australia
Worries about mispronouncing that guy's last name but makes no effort to get 'Wrexham' right despite Kris making it clear at the beginning 😆
It's Rob MACK-OL-HEH-NEE! And Mythic Quest is cool but come on, Always Sunny is the best thing he's done!
This is an amazing watch! I'm so glad to add it to my fall list
Football!!!!
@S…….s……b….. 😮
Y’all need to re visit this Show
a mid season one sounds good!
Between manscape and me undies I know way to much about John's croch.
🤣🤣🤣
I’ve been saying for so many years while we have had films like Bend It Like Beckham and the GOAL film series, I don’t think football (not soccer) has had the respect in deserves in terms of in Hollywood productions. You see so many inspiring movies and series on basketball and baseball players and clubs but you never see as much for, what is factually proven to be the most popular sport in the world.
I really give full credit to Ryan Reynolds who is using his Star power to bring non football fans like John into the world of the beautiful game. And if you’re like John and not into football and you really like the Wrexham documentary, may I also recommend the Sunderland Till I Die documentary and the Diego Maradona documentary on Netflix.
He's watched the show, and he still can't fucking pronounce Wrexham properly. Just incredible.
It is called FOOTBALL!!
Rex-ham 🤣 You don't pronounce the H! You never pronounce the H in ham for British place names unless it's a separate word, like West Ham.
It’s actually pronounced Mac-el-henny. Just as a heads up.
I love how he asked someone else who also didn't know. They came to a mutually incorrect mispronunciation, then agreed there was no problem in the first place. All in like a couple seconds.
I see this stuff happen all the time.
Humans are weird.
Like "mackel" + "haney"
You also mispronounced Wrexham.. Rex-um
6:55 As an European yeah, this system is way better
My hope is this show opens American eyes to promotion/relegation which is the structure of professional soccer everywhere but this country. It adds so much to the drama and because these clubs start at under-12 years old…you follow your local kids who then become stars. It’s like American HS football, college, and NFL all in one sport.
If we move to promotion/relegation and people support their local clubs, soccer will blow up in the United States. It needs to be demanded though because the greedy billionaires in MLS won’t vote for it unless it’s forced on them.
Shoutout to Philly 😂🤙🏾 so many name drops today
Just curious does anyone outside the US see people playing american football in their countries? I'm brazillian and only saw their ball once in uni were people were throwing it, besides that nothing. It likes the sport doesn't exist.
I'd don't think so. At least in Europe. I'm from Spain and I like American football, but no one is playing it. There's certain fan base but Europe is more about Rugby. Its not like basketball which has its own leagues everywhere... Also there's the handicap of time difference. There are people here who loves NBA, NFL and even NHL, but there's no way to follow them because when they play it here's 0:00 to 5:00 a.m. 😓
We have something similar in the UK called Rugby.
The documentary of Leeds United is just as great and its very similar to this documentary
What's soccer? Call it what it is. Football ⚽⚽⚽
Mack-el-henney
In Europe they call it football
Ok?
@@callanadamwilliams8200 football is also a EMGLISH word. Not British. Your point?? 6 billion call it football
"Wrex-um"
Another great Welsh sport is the story of the cardiff devils ice hockey team.
It makes more sense to call what américans call soccer football then what they call football football
Because in "soccer" or Real football
You play with feet
There are loads of types of football. Rugby, gaelic, aussie, gridiron. Football was called football because it was a ballgame played on foot, rather than horse back. Soccer is an abbreviation of association rules football. A name invented by the british who invented the game.
@@lilbaz8073 good to know
Nobody in the UK calls it soccer.
@@lilbaz8073 False.
6 billion call it football
It’s not called soccer im afraid
the brits say otherwise
@@ibekingape nope. The brits say football like 6 billion other people.
Good if you like football. Surprised they followed the players home, it showed the town and how poor it is.. then Ryan and Rob sack most of the team for failing to make the playoffs.. they don’t come across great, but glad they showed it in the documentary and they didn’t gloss over it.
How is the ad for this segment not mint mobile?
Great TV show. Interesting to see Americans' views on it.
You call Canadians "Americans"? Well, John is Canadian.
@@AmandaFromWisconsin are the other two from Canada too? Suppose we use it as a general term for people from north America here. But apologies if I caused offense. No harm meant.
@@AmandaFromWisconsin yes Canadians are American
People often mispronounce football as ‘soccer’, apparently it’s an easy mistake so if you do it, it’s not on you
the brits coming up with soccer and rugger haunting them is hilarious
Title should be : Americans experience a real sport.
Regarding Ryan Reynolds: "f that guy Red Notice sucks"
Regarding dwayne duh rock: "yeah Red Notice was bad but Dwayne duh Rock is so charisma."
Football (no, real football that you play WITH YOUR FEET) is so much more-entertaining than watching a bunch of NFL cementheads knock into each other. I can see why American NFL supporters are so insecure about a sport that's much better than theirs (and made up entirely of athletes). North Americans have been indoctrinated into the thought that real football is boring, but will happily watch golf, baseball, Nascar or NFL. I'm afraid that corporate America has fooled fans into sitting in front of the tube for 3-4 hours to watch sports with endless delays and COMMERCIAL BREAKS. Somehow their attention span can't handle 45 minutes of play, a 15-minute break then another 45 minutes of play?⚽⚽⚽
*football
It's football NOT soccer
whenever snobs say this it makes me want to say “SOCCER” even more 🤫🇺🇸
@@CJ-BZ There is nothing snobbish about it , you would be laughed at in Britain if you call it soccer, It's the number one sport in the world, It's called football in near enough every country in the world , this is a documentary about a Welsh / British football club
@@Fcvidal3 Not in Canada.
@@AmandaFromWisconsin even the Irish call it soccer, south africans, aussies & new zealanders.
@@Fcvidal3 who cares what other people call it or who laughs? if you’re not in that setting its ok to call it what your culture calls it. Nobody gets mad at Italians for calling it calcio, but god forbid we call the game what we’ve BEEN calling it since before most of “the world” were still colonies. mind you, the innits are the ones who came up with the name “soccer” 😂
Jon, you mispronounced "McElhenney" and you mispronounced "Wrexham" too. It's not "wrecks-HAM", it's "wrecks-um".
The Brit’s are the ones who made the word “soccer”
But is the Americans who use it
yes, and then we changed to football about 40-50 years ago.
yeh but we dont use it lol
@@callanadamwilliams8200 Us Aussies call European football soccer because we have a popular sport here called Aussie Rules Football
The Irish often call it soccer too…to differentiate from Gaelic football presumably.
I liked green lantern actually....
So right now in which league are they (tier) and how many teams gets promoted.
I’m from Wrexham and only one team gets automatically promoted the team that finishes first. Then the teams that finish between second to fifth qualify for the playoffs and the winner of those gets promoted also