I readily admit to my European soccer naivete.
The Apple TV+ series “Ted Lasso” might have been the gateway to getting me curious about the sport in the United Kingdom, but it was FX’s “Welcome to Wrexham” that provided a compelling real-life story about a moribund northern Wales club – Wrexham AFC – that benefits greatly from the North American star power of its actor/club owners Rob Mac and Ryan Reynolds. It was “Welcome” that, well, welcomed me into the greater world of professional soccer in the UK.
Today marks the end of Season 5 for “Welcome” and one consistent voice throughout the series’ history has been the Red Dragons’ broadcaster, Mark Griffiths.
In Mark I found a kindred spirit of sorts. A school teacher by day, the soccer match broadcasting was a volunteer side gig for him. The feature-ette “Welcome” did on Mark during Season 3 caught my eye.
I filed this away and resolved to make an effort to have Mark join me on an episode of Conversations.
That finally happenened this week.
And, I must say, I don’t believe I was too far off on the whole kindred spirit perception. As you’re about to discover, he and I embarked on a wide-ranging discussion about sports, history, Wales, broadcasting, viral moments, crazy cats, World Cup, and much – much – more.
When the Conversation finally drew to a close, I dare say we were both shocked to see we’d been talking for close to 90 minutes. To us, at least, it felt like 15.
I hope you find Mark to be as engaging as I did. Now I need to figure out how to get to Wrexham and have our next discussion in person:-)
My Conversation with Mark Griffiths.