Big Wes namesake attends first Nottingham Forest match

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Media caption,

American Big Wes, whose namesake used to play for Nottingham Forest, pays an emotional visit to the City Ground

An American man who became a Nottingham Forest fan after he was mistaken for a player online said it was "a dream come true" to attend his first game.

Wesley Hall, from Atlanta, and former Forest defender Wes Morgan, 31, are both known as Big Wes.

Mr Hall's Twitter handle is @bigwes, and Forest fans mistakenly tweeted him four years ago to congratulate him on Morgan's 400th appearance for the club.

He knew nothing about football at the time, but is now a diehard Reds fan.

He watches and listens to games from across "the pond", but this was his first time seeing Forest in the flesh.

"I said I wanted to be an honorary Forest fan," he told BBC Radio Nottingham.

"When I said that, that's when the whole thing went absolutely wild and it's been like a rocket ship ever since."

Mr Hall, who describes himself as a "digital analytics striker" on Twitter, external, was treated like a celebrity at the City Ground, with Forest fans eager to have photographs taken with him.

Image caption,

Wesley Hall said it was his desire "to be amongst the people that I've grown to love"

"I shed a couple of tears walking in," he said.

"It was overwhelming because ever since this whole thing started it's been really my desire to get here, to be amongst the people that I've grown to love, and now being here is actually a dream come true."

Unfortunately he did not get a chance to meet the other Big Wes, as Wes Morgan now plays for Leicester City.

However, Mr Hall was given the opportunity to take penalties at half-time during Forest's 1-0 defeat by Hull City on Saturday.

Image caption,

Wesley Hall used the Twitter handled @bigwes, causing Forest fans to confuse him with the other Big Wes

He also had time to visit the statue of Forest's legendary manager Brian Clough during his trip to Nottingham.

"It's been amazing seeing everybody that I've been corresponding to online," he said.

"It's been absolute madness, non-stop. I've had a blast since I've been here."

Image source, Wesley Hall
Image caption,

Wesley Hall visited the statue of Forest's legendary manager Brian Clough during his trip to Nottingham

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