Big Wes - Forever Red

POSITIVE NEWS

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Friday, October 28, 2011 started like any other work day. I fought traffic to get work. I got to my desk, had my peanut butter and honey sandwich and fired up my computer. Then it happened. My phone vibrated and up popped a Twitter mention from John Burton (@jbnffc1865):
I think @bigwes needs to do a number on @mattyfryatt right from the off #nffc v #hcfc
John's post was followed by a post from Ian Nash (ianred7980):
@jbnffc1865 @bigwes @mattyfryatt put him in row Z in the first 5 mins ! Ha ha
After scratching my head a bit and following the #nffc hashtag to see what all this was about, I replied:
@jbnffc1865 I think you have your bigwes' mixed up :-) before today I did not know that #nffc v #hcfc was coming up!
My post led to a few quirky exchanges between Superfan Tony Ward (@Trent_End_Tony) and I. It turns out #nffc is a hashtag for the Nottingham Forest Football Club in the UK, and the Big Wes that John and Ian were talking about was actually Wes Morgan. In the upcoming match, their Big Wes was to play in his 400th game for Forest - a huge feat of sportsmanship and loyalty. I, on the other hand, was eating a sandwich and waiting for my spreadsheets to load. I was, for the most part, clueless about UK football clubs, but I was so impressed by Wes Morgan's milestone and by Tony's banter, I asked if I could be an honorary Forest Fan.
It was at this point that I began to learn how much Reds love their club. After Tony tweeted he met an American that wanted to become a fan, I was embraced - no - enveloped by the Reds online. Twitter follows and mentions for me literally poured in. I received nearly 300 followers in two days, and I got more mentions that I was able to count. Quirky tweets soon turned to friendships. Nowadays I Skype, FaceTime, email and even call other Forest fans on a regular basis. Needless to say, I have become a True Red for life!
Below are a few places that our amazing journey has been documented. I make every effort to keep this list updated, but if you find something I missed or something outdated, please let me know. You Reds!

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