LOY: Hey Ryan Reynolds, how about some money for Canadian soccer?

On Monday, Wrexham AFC, the once obscure Welsh soccer team now known worldwide, announced the Royal Bank of Canada as one of their latest sponsors.This sponsorship has likely come about due to the club being owned by Canadian movie star Ryan Reynolds and the much-praised documentary that he, alongside American actor Rob McElhenney, has produced about the rise of Wrexham through the football league under their ownership.But this latest sponsorship announcement, involving one of Canada's biggest companies investing in a team owned by one of Canada's biggest movie stars, leaves me, a massive fan of Canadian soccer, feeling a little miffed.I am aware that I will make no friends by taking potshots at Reynolds, the darling of the Canadian media and film industry, but while Canadian soccer clubs continue to struggle with financial insecurity, this latest investment by a Canadian company in a foreign team does leave a sour taste in my mouth.For those who are unaware, the Vancouver Whitecaps, one of Canada's most historic and successful teams, are on the verge of relocation due to issues involving its ownership and stadium.The Whitecaps can trace their lineage back to 1974, when a team of the same name joined the then-flourishing North American Soccer League, or NASL, a league famous for its foreign import players like Pelé, Franz Beckenbauer, and Bobby Moore.The NASL folded in 1984, leading the Whitecaps to bounce around multiple upstart Canadian and North American leagues in an era where North American professional soccer was seen more as a foreign sideshow rather than a professional league to be taken seriously..The club, in one form or another, persisted despite this uncertainty until, in 2011, a franchise under the same name was announced as the latest franchise in the burgeoning Major League Soccer.The club still persists to this day, and despite laying claim to arguably the most illustrious alumni of any Canadian club, including Bruce Wilson, Bobby Lenarduzzi, and current Canadian national team captain Alphonso Davies, it finds itself with a future that is looking increasingly uncertain.It is for this reason that I find it increasingly odd, and in a way ironic, that the man whose social media handle is @vancityreynolds has not said a word regarding his hometown team's potential capitulation and relocation.I also find it necessary to explain the history of the club because the storytelling trope of a down-on-its-luck sports team with a storied history being brought back to its former glory by a new, forward-thinking set of owners is exactly the whole reason that Reynolds' Wrexham documentary became so popular.It boggles the mind that Reynolds and RBC are so keen to pour money into a team across the Atlantic Ocean rather than the team in their own backyard that is on the brink of collapse.I am aware that I am in no position to tell another man what to do with his money.I also do not want this column to come across as a whining plea to a New York-based movie star to send some pity money the way of a floundering soccer team..But for a man who has built much of his public image on the combination of his Vancouver upbringing as well as his seeming passion for funding the rebuild of a down-and-out soccer team, the lack of noise from Reynolds' end regarding the Whitecaps situation is just bizarre.I'm sure some people will disregard this article and infer that I am simply jealous that Reynolds has built a successful sporting and media brand with Wrexham, and he has absolutely no obligation to help finance a project just because he is from the same city as the team.And you would be correct on both accusations.However, while I'll admit to the jealousy wholeheartedly, the idea that because he is a successful businessman and actor, he has no obligation to support a Vancouver-based team on the brink of collapse speaks volumes about the way Canadians treat our celebrity ex-pats.Reynolds, alongside almost every Canadian celebrity living abroad, is always keen to reference Canada and big up their Canadian-ness when doing press tours.And when they do, Canadians gobble it up.But when it comes to actual investment in the country that raised them, gave them the platform to perform, and then sent them into the world ready to succeed, the enthusiasm dries up.At a time when supporting Canadian has become the trendy thing to do, the silence, or at least lack of actual meaningful contribution from Canada's vast array of successful ex-pats, is quietly telling.To get back to the main focus of this column, the silence from Reynolds regarding the Whitecaps shouldn't be disregarded and excused as something too minor for the big, important movie star to pay attention to.If you want to rep Vancouver or Canada, it takes more than just including the city in your social media handle and talking about niche Canadian things like a Coffee Crisp in a LadBible video.Ryan, it's time to put up or shut up.I hope my generalizations about Canada's foreign-living celebrity class are proven wrong, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

LOY: Hey Ryan Reynolds, how about some money for Canadian soccer?

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