Tom Brady’s BCFC Wrecks Eli Manning and Ryan Reynolds’ Wrexham AFC, Drawing Global Attention to ‘English Third-Division’ Clash

You don’t expect a third-division English soccer match to fill a stadium with a seating capacity of almost 30,000. Yet, when Tom Brady’s Birmingham FC locked horns against Ryan Reynolds’ Wrexham AFC at St Andrew’s stadium, that’s precisely what happened.

This highly anticipated bout has been dubbed many names, from El Cashico to The Hollywood Showdown, each for its own reason. Birmingham FC has apparently spent about 30 million pounds this year in a bid to make their place among the elites. In contrast, the Wrexham AFC has managed to cough up just 2 million pounds.

So, the gaps are substantial, and the outcome of the matchup unfolded just as anticipated. However, the hype train was fueled from multiple angles, even recruiting NFL legend Eli Manning as a fan of the underdog team. To be fair, both teams are considered underdogs, but Brady’s squad is in League One (the third tier), while Wrexham AFC is in the National League (the fifth tier).

But the inclusion of Eli, a rival Brady has faced several times on the biggest stage of American Football and lost to, attracted eyeballs all over the globe. The two’s trash talks online stoked the flames even higher. And the fixture, which ended in Birmingham FC’s favor with a 3-1 final score, proved to be a huge success.

Does this mean that one of the teams, or both, are going to the Championship or the Premier League? That’s still a long road ahead. But it’s a start.

And the rivalry is now even more intense. Following the match, some fans were quick to accept the reality, stating the fact that their team (Wrexham AFC) didn’t quite have the firepower to win the bout. They have been lacking on all sides, and Birmingham proved to be a championship-level team once again.

Some, on the other hand, were more optimist than the other. They were still convinced that the Wrexham side was still superior and pointed out that the team still stood at the top of the chart of League One, even after the defeat.

Overall, though, most were impressed by how Brady’s team has managed to turn things around in such a short period. And now, the former NFL star has triumphed over the “Actors.”

Clearly, Brady’s team is getting all the right receptions. Before the matchup, however, the atmosphere was quite different for Birmingham. While a road game was expected to be tense, the way fans treated Brady was not.

Brady faced boos and negative chants like never before

While the seven-time Super Bowl champ was successful in his road game against his long-time rival, even attracting a lot of eyeballs, passionate fans still provided him with a reality check — soccer fan style.

When the minority shareholder was being escorted to his seating area, Wrexham fans started chanting, “Who the f*cking hell are you?”

It might baffle some NFL fans to imagine Brady not being recognized, but let’s remember that football holds a different meaning across the Atlantic.

For what it’s worth, though, Brady took it like a champ. He responded to the rowdy fans with a smile, a thumbs-up, a wave, and kept on walking.

That said, in the next six months, things could change significantly for both soccer teams. Who knows? Maybe Wrexham will bring in Eli to join Reynolds and Rob McElhinney in the owner’s lounge. Perhaps he’s the lucky charm they need to overcome teams like Brady’s.

He failed the first time, much like his first-ever meeting with Brady on the gridiron in 2001. But Manning did end up outplaying his rival when it mattered the most. Maybe History will repeat itself once again.