Rob McElhenney doesn't remember much about the last time the United States hosted theWorld Cup. A junior in high school in 1994, he didn't watch much "football" at all.
"I would've called it soccer at the time," he told USA TODAY Sports.
A lot can change in 32 years. McElhenney – or Rob Mac as he's come to be known throughout his career in Hollywood, where he's starred and co-created hit shows such as "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" and "Mythic Quest" – now owns not one, but two professional football clubs internationally.
In a wide-ranging exclusive interview with USA TODAY Sports, McElhenney dished on his foray into the football world, how the cultures of his teams have shaped his growth and appreciation for the sport as a fan and his latest partnership.
With the biggest sporting event in the world returning to the U.S. in just over two weeks, how he's teaming up with Enterprise Rent-A-Car's #OnEveryCorner program, in which fans across the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Spain and France will have an opportunity towin a free carevery time a goal is scored on a corner kick.
McElhenney's own growing interest in football over the years isn't unique. While the world's game has always been popular in certain pockets of the country – mainly markets with big Latino populations like Los Angeles and Miami – overall excitement for the sport has seemed to grow with each World Cup as more and more talent seems to emerge from the United States Men's National Team. Seventeen of the 26 players onthis year's World Cup rosterplay in Europe.
Welcome to Wrexham
There's also the impact that TV series such as "Ted Lasso" or "Welcome to Wrexham," a documentary series co-created by McElhenney and his business partner, "Deadpool" star Ryan Reynolds, has had on casual fans who otherwise might not have gotten into soccer.
Just how impactful has TV been in reaching new audiences across the Atlantic?
Owners across the English football system and La Liga recently conducted a poll in an effort to identify which teams have the strongest name brand value with Americans. Wrexham was the third-most popular team in the U.S.; Manchester United came in second. No. 1 on the list? Richmond AFC, the fictional club managed by Ted Lasso in the smash hit Apple TV comedy series.
"It just shows you how much Americans love television," McElhenney said. "They love great stories. And ultimately, that's what I think really hit a nerve with "Wrexham" is that it's a really good story, as is Ted Lasso."
What a story it's been.
When McElhenney and Reynolds purchased Wrexham for about £2 million in 2021, it was a club that had long ago faded into obscurity competing in the National League, the fifth tier of the football pyramid. It had gotten so bad at one point that in 2011, theclub's own supportershad to step in to save the third-oldest professional football team in the world from folding. McElhenney told USA TODAY Sports that at the beginning of his co-ownership with Reynolds, they made it a point to not drag the fifth-tier club into their own story. Rather, they aimed become part of the Red Dragons' storied history.
Five years, three consecutive promotions and a long-running docuseries later, Wrexham has become a household name with the results on the pitch to back it up. The club failed to score a fourth promotion this season that would've put them into the Premier League, but their seventh-place finish in The Championship, the second division of the English system, was the highest league finish in the club's 162-year history.
"I think the story of Wrexham's rise translates into every culture across the world," McElhenney said. "... Our basic thesis and original idea was if you give people enough opportunity and access to success, and the right tools and the right opportunity, then they're going to take it. And I think that's what resonates with people."
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The crowning moment for McElhenney of the 2025-26 season? March 13, a 2-0 victory over Swansea City that marked the first time in a quarter century that Wrexham sat atop the table as the best team in Wales, and the seventh time in club history they've accomplished the feat.
"It gives me goosebumps," he said.
Necaxa
In 2024, McElhenney and Reynolds invested in another club: Necaxa of Liga MX, the topflight league in the Mexican Football Federation.
"I just fell in love with the sport," McElhenney said on what appealed to him about owning a team in Mexico. "... The language doesn't matter. It's a very simple game insofar as you're just trying to kick a ball into the opponent's net, so anybody can play anywhere in the world. That's why it's the most popular sport in the world.
"There's a passion that you feel, and the passion is a little bit different in each country or each region, but you can still feel that passion. In every corner of the world, there's somebody playing football."
The passion from Liga MX fans stateside admittedly caught McElhenney a bit off guard at first. He knew Mexican football was huge – especially in Los Angeles – he just didn't realize by how much.
When McElhenney wears his Wrexham hat around town, he'll usually get people telling him "Go Wrexham." But when he wears a Necaxa hat?
"I hear it all day long," he said. "All. Day. Long. ... But it's just so fun and exciting to see and to feel in the city that I live in, the passion of the people."
That's part of the culture he's come to appreciate in his first two years as a co-owner of the Aguascalientes-based club. Whereas the atmosphere surrounding English football can be likened to a fistfight, McElhenney sees Mexican football as a dance. One big party from start to finish, regardless of the result.
"Even though people might be upset and dejected, they still walk out with their hearts full of joy," he said. "And I find with English football, it's just as much fun but it can be brutal. ... Both are exciting and both leave you buzzing, but for different reasons."
The World's Game
The World Cup, just over two weeks away, is a celebration of those differences. For a month straight, 48 teams, 48 countries, 48 cultures will be on full display sharing the world's biggest stage speaking the universal language of humanity – sport.
McElhenney plans to be in attendance for as many games as he possibly can, and he won't be the only figure from Wrexham there. Two of his players – Liberato Cacace and Dom Hyam – will be representing their countries, New Zealand and Scotland respectively, this summer.
"This is the first time that we've been in this situation where we've had players good enough to be called up to their national teams," he told USA TODAY Sports. "It's really exciting to see guys that we know, guys that play with us, going and playing on the world stage."
For full information about Enterprise's #OnEveryCorner program and how to enter the sweepstakes, visitOnEveryCorner.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Rob McElhenney partnership gives World Cup fans chance at free car
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