Former Wrexham striker Jake Hyde admits to having embarrassed himself during a first meeting with club co-owner Ryan Reynolds.
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Hollywood stars calling the shotsMade an impact on and off the fieldImpressed everybody in North WalesWHAT HAPPENED?
The 33-year-old joined the Dragons in 2021 – shortly before Paul Mullin's arrival – and was thrust straight under the spotlight at a club that sees their every move documented in the ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ television series.
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Hyde has no problem with being in front of the camera, but concedes that he lost his cool when crossing paths with Reynolds for the first time. He quickly became comfortable around the Deadpool actor and his fellow co-chairman Rob McElhenney, but did start out in fanboy mode.
WHAT THEY SAID
Hyde has told the of the famous owners in North Wales: “It was so mad. I knew loads about Ryan, I’ve watched loads of his films. Stupidly, and probably the least cool thing I’ve ever done in my life, I told him straight away that one of my favourite comedies was The Change Up. That’s straight off the bat, I didn’t even introduce myself, just ‘hi, I really like Change Up’ – it was terrible! The person he is, I can’t speak highly enough of him – just as a general man, as a polite bloke. Across the whole of my career – I’ve played for 10 different clubs – never had a chairman text you on your birthday. He’s just, as a bloke, unbelievable. The fact that he is so well known, how well he has done and all the success, for him to still be that man and character is says bundles about him. He’s a really, really top bloke.
“And I would say the same about Rob. Rob I spoke to a little less, I didn’t see him quite as much but again, as a bloke, when he was there he was finding out about us, asking about us, how’s the family etc. He knew so much about us. One thing I remember thinking about Rob is – because I think when they first took over they were still learning on the job, how a football club is run, even how football is run, just how football is – he knew so much. Rob was hooked from the start. I’m sure Ryan was as well, but Rob would surprise me with the things he knew. He would tell me something that happened to me a year ago and I was like ‘how does he even…’ So it was obvious that he was super invested and had done all his research for ages. People always say don’t meet your heroes because you’ll be disappointed, but those two exceeded my expectations 10 fold. You expect someone that well known and high calibre of a person to get a bit fed up and be like ‘I’ve had enough of that and want to be on my own’, but they weren’t. They were so excited to be around us, to talk to us and they always made such an effort. That went a long way with the boys.”
Getty/GOALWHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
Reynolds and McElhenney helped to bankroll Wrexham’s return to the Football League in 2022-23, while they have also made an important contribution to the local community – with the pair showing that a hands-on approach to club ownership can be beneficial to all concerned.