Rotherham United fan travels 5,000 miles to meet hero

With his son at university in London, Nixon looked for a game near the capital and settled on Swindon.

He arrived at the match two hours early and was given a hat, shirt and scarf, and was then invited to read out Rotherham’s team sheet on the loudspeaker.

He also got to meet Mullin when the players arrived at the ground.

Nixon said: “He came over to me and he has this wonderful charm about him where he made me feel like he had just waited all his life for me to come say hello.

“It’s a really rare quality, whatever level of professional athlete or celebrity or whatever.

“He thanked me for coming for the support, which I thought was kind of amusing and just absolutely wonderful.”

A Rotherham United spokesperson said: “It was fantastic to learn of Carl’s newfound love for Rotherham United and when we found out that he would be travelling to take in the fixture at Swindon Town, we wanted to ensure that his first Millers match was one to remember.

“We are incredibly proud of our association with all of our supporters whether they live in Rotherham or much further afield, and knowing that we now have another flying the flag for us out in Las Vegas is brilliant.

“We would also like to thank our hosts at Swindon for extending their hospitality to Carl, in making his day extra special by allowing him to read out the Millers team over the stadium PA system.”