Ryan Reynolds Says He Paces Like a 'Rabid Drug-Snorting Tiger' Watching Soccer Games

Ryan Reynolds is one of us.

Reynolds and actor Rob McElhenney purchased Welsh soccer club Wrexham AFC in 2021, and immediately set about growing its profile.

Wrexham competes in the fifth tier of the English soccer leagues, despite its nearly 160-year-old history.

But they have one of the most important opportunities in years coming up on Sunday. And Ryan Reynolds, normally known for his humor, is taking it extremely seriously.

In the third round of the FA Cup, Wrexham managed to take down Coventry, a Championship level team.

That set up a matchup with Sheffield United on Sunday, where Wrexham will be massive underdogs.

Reynolds described to ESPN what it was like watching the match against Coventry from New York as a fairly recent supporter.

"I was pacing around like some sort of rabid drug-snorting tiger," Reynolds explained.

That colorful description isn't particularly surprising given how he discussed potentially buying an NHL team.

READ: RYAN REYNOLDS WILL BE ‘FROTHY, RABIES-INFUSED FAN’ IF HE BUYS SENATORS

Supporters of Wrexham Association Football Club stand in front of a banner making reference to their North American owners during a National League fixture football match against Maidenhead United at the Racecourse Ground stadium, in Wrexham, north Wales, on January 29, 2022. - Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds and American actor Rob McElhenney completed their purchase of Wrexham AFC in February 2021. (Photo by OLI SCARFF / AFP) (Photo by OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images)

Reynolds Has High Hopes for Wrexham

The new ownership has been extremely popular in Wales.

Fans have appreciated how much time Reynolds and McElhenney have spent around the club. As well as their stated ambitions, which involve multiple levels of promotion, as he explained to ESPN.

"That's what you see from Premier League clubs, Championship League clubs," Reynolds said. "We want to walk the walk, even as a fifth-tier club. We say this all the time, but we want to be in the Premier League, as crazy as that sounds to some people. If it is theoretically possible to go from the fifth tier in professional football all the way to the Premier League, why wouldn't we do that? Why wouldn't we use our last drop of blood to get there?"

He admitted that his newfound love for the game has not been all positive, however.

"Two years ago, I didn't have this kind of passion for the sport, and in some ways, I see it as a plague," he said. "In other ways, I see it as the greatest introduction that's ever been made to me, at least from a sports perspective. It's wild. I wish it didn't dominate as many of my thoughts and deeds as it does these days, but you don't make anything great without enthusiasm, they say."

Basically every sports fan knows that feeling. The outcome of sporting events becomes the single most important element of your day or week, despite the many disappointments along the way.

Reynolds obviously has a more personal stake in Wrexham's success, which for an owner who actually cares, surely makes the process even more stressful.

Wrexham's game against Sheffield kicks off at 11:30am ET on Sunday, with a chance to pull a spectacular upset.

But this time, Reynolds won't be watching from New York. He'll be pacing around Racecourse Ground in person.