Tale of Two Cities: Rob McElhenney On Bringing Wrexham to Philadelphia
Rob McElhenney came back to the City of Brotherly Love last weekend to be greeted by an angry mother nature, some Philadelphia love, and of course, yours truly.
The co-owner of Wrexham A.F.C. sat down with Preston Elliot, Steve Morrison & Nick McIlwain before the team faced Philadelphia Union II in a friendly scrimmage. The hot, humid, and eventually rainy day did not bother Rob. He reminded us that the Founding Fathers suffered this heat in 1776, and they had wigs and everything.
Rob explained the reasoning for these nationwide friendlys with European soccer teams. “The whole point of [these friendlys] is to just spread the word. There is so many Americans who want a Wrexham game but couldn’t make it over to Whales yet, so this gives them the opportunity to the games.” The Always Sunny creator also revealed that although he is a diehard Philadelphia Union fan. But, for 90 minutes today, he has to trade alliances as Wrexham’s owner.
Nevertheless, Rob describes to us many of similarities that the cities of Philadelphia and Wrexham have. He understands that sports mean way more to these cities than simply another championship title. Curiously, we asked Rob what he is hoping for in the future of this season and the next few years for this club. “Part of the fun of this experience is that failure is expected.” says McElhenney. He reveals more about his mindset for this season and possibly bringing home another victory for the Whales.
As Rob reflects on his relationship with the team, he refers to the players as both their peers but also like sons to him. He even shares a few stories of times where him and his wife act as the parents of the players.
Rob shared stories of life being an owner of a professional football team, the creator of our favorite TV show, and a father. We were lucky enough to get a little insight into how he does it all.
The friendly scrimmage itself resulted in a draw after hours of delays from thunderstorms. I guess it isn’t always in Philadelphia.
Although we wish we could have delayed Rob for hours, we cut our time with him to a 20-minute interview. Nevertheless, anytime we get to talk to Rob is time well spent!
– Campbell Donovan, The Preston & Steve Show Staff
