Next Wednesday, the Philadelphia Union, winners of last year’s Supporters’ Shield (awarded annually to the MLS team with the most regular-season points), will return home to face the Columbus Crew with Subaru Park in Chester to be open at full capacity for the first time since last year’s COVID pandemic.
The Union, the only MLS team remaining in this year’s Concacaf Champions League, also have a big game coming up against Wrexham A.F.C, a Welsh team co-owned by actors Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds of Deadpool and Van Wilder fame. Currently competing in the fifth-highest tier of English soccer, Wrexham is the oldest team in Wales, first founded in 1863.
Wrexham and Union will take part in a five-day training camp next month, culminating in a July 29th friendly at Subaru Park. Playing on American soil for the first time, Wrexham plans to debut its new away kit with Reynolds and McElhenney (neither of whom have actually seen the team play in person since purchasing them for $2.78 million last fall) both expected to be in attendance. A native of South Philly, McElhenney is best known for his role as “Mac” on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, a show he created and now executive produces along with friends Glenn Howerton and Charlie Day, who are also cast members.
McElhenney’s Philly fandom is well-documented with several episodes devoted to the Phillies (Ryan Howard and Chase Utley have each cameoed on the long-running FXX sitcom), Eagles and Flyers. The 44-year-old’s wife, Kaitlin Olson (who also appears on Sunny), went into labor with the couple’s first son at a Phillies/Dodgers game in 2010.
The Union, owners of the Eastern Conference’s second-best record behind New England, will make a rare appearance on national television this weekend with ESPN broadcasting Sunday’s game in Atlanta at 2 PM ET. Ironically, if the 76ers survive Game 6 in Atlanta Friday night, they’ll also be playing Sunday. Meanwhile, Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant, who purchased a minority stake in the Union last summer, will be on the floor for Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semis Saturday against Milwaukee.
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