• Tom Hamilton, Senior WriterSep 16, 2024, 06:05 PM ET

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      • Joined ESPN in 2011
      • Covered two Olympics, a pair of Rugby World Cups and two British & Irish Lions tours
      • Previously rugby editor, and became senior writer in 2018

BIRMINGHAM, England — Legendary quarterback Tom Brady is used to a different kind of “Monday Night Football,” but he was just one of several superstars in attendance at St Andrew’s as his Birmingham City side ended Wrexham’s unbeaten start to life in League One thanks to a 3-1 win on Monday.

Supporters were talking about the bedlam surrounding the famous old stadium even three hours before the 8 p.m. kickoff.

That’s what happens when you have Brady, Rob McElhenney and David Beckham in town for the match billed as the “Hollywood Derby.” There were suggestions that Ryan Reynolds — Wrexham co-owner with McElhenney — would be in attendance, but his view of the action came thanks to being FaceTimed in by McElhenney before kickoff.

“You can feel the energy in the stadium,” Brady said on Sky Sports before the match. “We’re excited. It’s going to be a great match. If you love football you should be watching this tonight.”

Brady has a 3.3% stake in Birmingham City and flew in specially for the match. He was seen on the pitch before the match throwing an American football with the Blues.

After fielding several media interviews, he handed McElhenney a Birmingham shirt with the No. 12 on the back, and then later was paraded around the outside of the field. He received a brilliant welcome but for the Wrexham fans who mixed applauding the man regarded as one of the greatest ever to play in the NFL with a serenade of “Who the f—ing hell are you?”

“We want success on the pitch and how we do that, we’re going to have our own process for that,” Brady said before the match. “But the end result, we want to be winning and that’s what we’re committed to. I love sports and I love being a part of this club.”

McElhenney flew in having attended the Emmys on Sunday in Los Angeles and was at the forefront of the prematch hype. Wrexham enlisted former quarterback Eli Manning as a fan for the day, using his record of having helped the New York Giants to two Super Bowl wins over Brady’s New England Patriots in 2008 and 2012 as a tasty subplot.

Brady responded by pointing out his incredible array of awards, which led to Manning enlisting some help from actor Hugh Jackman on social media.

But still, this was a mere subplot to the match itself between two unbeaten teams in League One, and a pair of promotion hopefuls. Birmingham have spent big this summer — close to £30m — and shattered the club and league record to bring in Jay Stansfield for a fee believed to be around £15 million.

Birmingham were looking to bounce back to the English League Championship at the first time of asking after relegation last season. Then there’s Wrexham, complete with their back-to-back promotions and aspirations of making the Premier League, under the guidance of the Reynolds-McElhenney partnership.

There was still room for one more celebrity surprise. With Beckham — and son Romeo — sitting to the left of Brady in the Birmingham director’s box, his ex-Manchester United and England teammate Gary Neville was also at St Andrew’s.

“We’ve brought a lot of international attention to a League One match,” said Birmingham chairman Tom Wagner on his assessment of the occasion, and his team responded with a brilliant performance after overcoming an early scare.

It was the visitors who took the lead after just two minutes with Jack Marriott bundling home a corner. McElhenney was refrained in the stands at seeing his Wrexham side go a goal up, but Brady was far more animated when Stansfield tapped home a rebound on his return to the Blues after Arthur Okonkwo spilled a long-range Alfie May effort.

With the game locked at 1-1 at the break, it was Birmingham who took the lead in the 52nd minute as Stansfield headed home a brilliant Alex Cochrane cross. And Birmingham’s joy was further fuelled just seven minutes later when Tomoki Iwata struck home beautifully from 25 yards out.

Brady was later spotted in the crowd applauding as a mass brawl broke out as players from both sides took umbrage with one another, but it was Birmingham — who had skipper Krystian Bielik sent off for a second yellow in the 86th minute — who kept control of the match to give Brady the bragging rights in the first Hollywood Derby.



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