At first glance, former NFL quarterback Joey Harrington's career doesn't bear much resemblance to Wrexham or soccer, the sport he quit around the age of 10.
But the third overall pick in the 2002 NFL Draft insists the rise of the Welsh club has coincided with the rise of his own club. Harrington and his family have a habit of waking up early Saturday morning at their home in Portland, Oregon, to watch Phil Parkinson's team play live, 7,750 miles away.
“If you had told me 10 years ago that I would buy a subscription to something called the Vanarama National League,” he said of the fifth tier of the English football pyramid, which Wrexham would win in 2022-23. He says he did. I would have laughed at you.
“But now I wake up at 6.30am every Saturday for a 7am (3pm UK time) game, something I would never have imagined doing just a few years ago. But as a family, we are completely obsessed with the club and the journey they are on.”
Harrington's own sports journey comes with pedigree. His father, John, played quarterback at the University of Oregon in the late 1960s, and his grandfather, Bernie, played quarterback at the University of Portland about 25 years ago. If Bernie hadn't served in World War II, he definitely would have played in the NFL, receiving strong offers from several teams. That included George Halas' Chicago Bears.
The three years that Joey followed in his father's footsteps as quarterback at the University of Oregon were transformative for the team, which went from a roster of players to ranked second in the American college game. Harrington was a key player and 2001 Heisman Trophy finalist before being drafted by the Detroit Lions the following year. Only fellow quarterbacks David Carr (Houston Texans) and future Hall of Famer Julius Peppers (Carolina Panthers) departed sooner.
He spent four seasons with Detroit, then spent time with the Miami Dolphins, Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints. An impressive resume by any standard, but there were no signs of retirement involving a small club playing an entirely different sport on the other side of the Atlantic.
Enter series one of Welcome to Wrexham, a documentary about the takeover of the club by Hollywood celebrities Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds, and the family's subsequent visit to North Wales.
“Our sons, Jack and Emmett, were old enough to start traveling abroad,” Harrington said. “To give them perspective on the world and what’s in it.
“We got tickets for Manchester City vs. Liverpool through Nike (a major sponsor of the University of Oregon's sports teams) and planned the trip. Everyone thought my kids would be playing American football. Despite what they thought, the boys, both goalkeepers, were excited because they were drawn to soccer.
“The plan was to spend some time in London, call a friend in Bristol and drive to Manchester. Then my eldest son Jack said, 'Can we stop in Wrexham on the way?' Said. We have all already seen series 1 of the documentary and loved it. ”
At the time, Wrexham were competing with Notts County for the National League title, but when the Harrington family visited the ground, they were treated to a warm welcome, including an impromptu tour of the ground by club secretary and Wrexham's longest-serving player, Geraint Parry. I was welcomed. – A member of staff.
“The first person I met in the tunnel was (then Wrexham goalkeeper and former England international) Ben Foster,” Harrington recalls. “He walked right up to the boys and, without exaggerating, he started talking to them as if they were family and asking all kinds of questions.
Sons of Harrington and Ben Foster (Joey Harrington)
“As soon as I found out their favorite position, I said, “I'm a goalkeeper too, my name is Ben.'' Jack's eyes clicked as he realized, “Oh my God, this is Ben Foster, the England goalkeeper.'' I heard a sound.
“Three more steps down the tunnel and (Wrexham manager) Phil Parkinson appears. He says ‘hello’ to the boys and then has a conversation with his wife Emily. It's something she still talks about. It's a conversation he's probably had thousands of times and he doesn't remember. But the fact that he took some time to talk to the family and Emily and the kids said a lot to me. ”
The Harrington family's whistle-stop tour includes meeting club shop staff and groundsman Paul Challoner before stopping at The Turf, the pub next to their Wrexham home made famous in the documentary. Ta.
“Wayne (Jones, landlord) was great with the boys,” he added. “They were so welcoming that I remember Jack, who was 13 years old at the time, and it was his first time going to a bar, and he said to me, 'Dad, can we play pool?' ” There are a lot of quarters on the table that we can use. ”
“I'm thinking, 'No, no, that's not true.' But the guy who took the money said, 'Don't worry, you can take my slot.' As the whole world began to flock to this small town in Wales, they treated my family as if we were visiting for the first time.
“I have watched professional sports at the highest level, including 10 years in the NFL. I have seen what that world is like. To see what literally everyone was like as people, from the pub owner to the Premier League goalkeeper who saved a penalty against Notts County just a few weeks later. Wrexham could lose every game forever but I will still support this club.''
Autzen Stadium; Eugene, Oregon. October 12, 2024.
Actor Kaitlin Olson returned to her alma mater for the big college football game between No. 3 Oregon State and No. 2 Ohio State. She joined her husband, Rob, in an Oregon state record crowd of 60,129. Along with Rob McElhenney, he is also co-star of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and co-owner of Wrexham.
2 years ago @rexham_AFC Made my family feel welcome. On Saturday, my operating theater and Wrexham worlds collided. ExDir @thehumphreyker Running 26.2 @rexhamminers. To help, we'll match your donation up to $2,620 with a $2 match. It’s a small world & kindness comes full circle https://t.co/DyzB8WQ2JD pic.twitter.com/1tYU2SpfFx
— Joey Harrington (@joey3harrington) October 19, 2024
Harrington, who started it all as a college quarterback in the 1990s, is also in attendance. They all spent the afternoon chatting, and after the game, a photo was taken of the trio making the signature “O” hand sign from Harrington's last game against Oregon before turning pro.
“This was the first time I met Rob and Caitlin,” he says. “They were wonderful and there were no pretenses. You'd never know they were Hollywood stars. They were just family members and they were so welcoming to me and my friends.
“We spoke to Wrexham and showed them pictures of Ben Foster and the boys. I wasn't surprised by how they looked. That's just how we've been treated at Wrexham. There, towns, teams and organizations are following that example of leadership.”
Harrington and his family have yet to travel to Wrexham for a match, but he hopes to rectify that next year. They took part in a pre-season friendly against Manchester United in San Diego, California last year, where Paul Mullin suffered four broken ribs and a collapsed lung. He also attended a match between the Wrexham women's team and the Portland Thorns in July this year, which drew a crowd of 10,379. Welsh club records.
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The latter confirmed Harrington as an investor in the Thorns, a club in the National Women's Soccer League, along with two-time Olympic decathlete Ashton Eaton and Olympic heptathlon bronze medalist Brianne Theisen-Eaton. It was announced immediately after.
This is quite a turning point for the man, who freely admits that he had stayed away from the game for years because he considered it an act in men's soccer.
“If the player falls on the pitch, a stretcher will be brought out to remove him,'' he said, pledging to donate $2,620 to Secretary General Humphrey Kerr's fundraising efforts to save the Wrexham Miners.46 says the older Harrington. I will be running the Manchester Marathon next year.
“Then he went to the sideline and there came a magic spray and he was like, okay. I had no respect for that. So even though I played until the fourth grade. , my soccer experience wasn't very good.
Canada's Christine Sinclair, who holds the record for the sport's top international scorer with 190 goals in 331 games, began to change her mind after watching her play for the University of Portland in the early 2000s. Ta.
“Christine was knocked off the ball,” he recalled. “I'm thinking to myself, 'Wow, the theater's here.' But no, she immediately stands up and gives the girl an elbow on the way to her feet. She immediately becomes my favorite Not only did I become a player, but I decided to just watch women's soccer.”
Harrington plays for the Miami Dolphins in 2006 (Al Bello/Getty Images)
'Welcome to Wrexham' has changed his stance, particularly after he begins to see parallels between his own career and how the fortunes of the Welsh club have transformed under Reynolds and McElhenny. It was useful.
“What really resonates with me is the parallels between what happened at Wrexham and my own time in the Oregon State football program,” he says. “When I showed up in 1997, others saw us as irrelevant. We were results-oriented. So a group of us sat down and decided to change things. We were going to win, especially the national championship.
“A lot of people laughed at us. But we stuck with it and things started to change. Well, we didn't win a national championship our senior year, but… , finishing second in the country. But to have the program in a place where we continue to be part of the national conversation was incredibly special.
“Then I got into the NFL, and it was a business. I said, 'What can you do for me? How can I get what's mine?' ) stabbed people in the back to get another year. You get that when you're in a multi-billion dollar business.
“But what I'm trying to say is what can happen when a group of people come together who not only take their purpose seriously (to rise from irrelevance to stand out), but also take each other seriously. That's my personal experience. I saw the same thing in Wrexham.
“It's not just about putting a butt on the seat, it's not just about scratching it and climbing on it with your claws. It's also about how you do it, who you take with you and why you do it. Wrexham ,Understood.”
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(Top photo: The Harrington family visiting the racetrack grounds/Joey Harrington)
