A group of Wolverhampton Wanderers fans, known as Wolves, decided to embark on an unforgettable adventure by traveling 5,000 miles to the 1986 World Cup in Mexico after losing their jobs. Instead of returning to their homeland, Stourbridge and Lye in the United Kingdom, they decided to stay in the United States and start their lives over. This fascinating story is the subject of the new documentary "Lost Down Mexico Way", which relives the extraordinary trajectory of these fans, 40 years after the event. The documentary's protagonists, who are known by their nicknames, include Adder (Gary Allen), Rabbithead (Garry Hardwicke), Batesy (Stuart Bates), Arnie (David Arnold) and Texas Steve (Steve Dawson). Director Jack Leigh jokingly commented: "None of them are called by their first names throughout the film, but they all have around 20 different nicknames, which makes editing quite complicated." Leigh, who works for production company Eight Engines, revealed that he couldn't ignore the email he received from Gary Allen, who proposed the documentary. "We get a lot of requests to tell stories and usually we end up ignoring them a little bit. But this one stuck with me and I responded by saying that it's very difficult to make documentaries, but I thought it was a great story and that if it really got made, I'd like to see it." Three months later, they were filming a teaser for the documentary in Mexico. Gary Allen now lives in Atlanta, having retired after running his own company.
own company last year. "In 1986, Margaret Thatcher was in power and some of us had lost our jobs, so we decided to go to the World Cup in Mexico," Allen told the BBC. The group flew to Houston, Texas, and headed to Monterrey, where Allen described the heat as "insane." In the documentary, David Arnold commented: "Mexico was one of those countries that I had to look for on the map, it looked so exotic. We thought it would be the coolest thing in the world to go to a World Cup on the other side of the world." Arnold made a joke, revealing that the group didn't even know what language was spoken in Mexico, as none of them spoke Spanish. The group had to adapt to the rules of the new country and were even arrested for not wearing t-shirts, after drinking beer in the streets. "It was the best thing we've ever seen," Allen said. "At this point we were all thinking 'this is life, it's so much better than what we did in England'." After the World Cup and a brief stay in Belize, the group flew to Dallas, Texas. “America was a completely different world – the opportunity was what attracted us most,” Allen said. "You could get a job anywhere. I had three jobs in the first three or four weeks. Our accents attracted women, we took advantage of that. We didn't want to leave." In the documentary, Dawson stated, "It was the most fun summer of my life." The documentary follows the men's adventures over the years and the friendship that lasted over four decades. "
Batesy lives in Houston and Steve in Dallas, I go see them once or twice a year and we still talk on the phone," Allen said. Although he admitted to being homesick for the first few years, he never regretted the move. "The jobs were here, the money was here, we all found women here," he said. "Everything here was 10 times better than what we had in Stourbridge, but I miss Stourbridge like I couldn't believe." When asked what drew him to Allen's email among all the documentary requests received, Leigh highlighted the genuine kindness of the group, who are all great storytellers. "I think there's a level of charm to the boys, and they're so relatable," he told the BBC. "They're just working-class lads, embarking on a truly incredible adventure."