SUNRISE, FLA. (WSVN) - A Florida Panthers superfan is known for flexing his muscles. He and his late son loved attending games together, and now, with the help of a costume, that connection is being kept alive.
Friends and family know him as Rob Veglia, but at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, he’s known as Muscle Fan.
“We were awful for years,” Veglia said. “So we finally made the playoffs, and I’m like, ‘I got to do something bigger.'”
He went into his closet and got the inspiration for his alter ego.
“I had a Halloween costume, and I just started adding some Panthers stuff to it — threw on a wig, headband — showed up,” he said. “All of a sudden, it was a hit. Everyone loved it, and the crowd got fired up.”
The costume won Muscle Fan the honor of being the Verizon Ultimate Fan.
While Veglia talks about his journey as Muscle Fan, his emotions quickly shift, as he thinks about his favorite plus one.
“This is my son, Dominic,” he said. “This is him, Dahmer. He passed away two months ago.”
Dominic, or Dom, as the family calls him, was born with a seizure disorder. The disorder caused Dom to become developmentally delayed and bound to a wheelchair.
But his disability didn’t keep his father from making him Muscle Fan Jr., what he is today.
“Got the mullet, got the headband,” Veglia said.
Unfortunately, he could never watch the Panthers win its first Stanley Cup Final, because he was put on life support during the Panthers vs. Lightning series.
“We watched the game with him in bed. They went into overtime,” said Veglia. “That was the last thing he saw. He passed away a couple of hours later.”
Veglia took a break from everything. He and his wife spent months mourning their son.
After a few weeks, the team and fans noticed he wasn’t there and sent the family a note.
Just like that, Muscle Fan was back in action, just in time for the championship.
While Veglia sat and watched the Panthers win it all on Monday, he noticed the crowd making gestures toward him.
“I can’t tell you how many people, when they won that, just put their arms up and said, ‘They did it for Dom, they did it for Dom,'” he said.
Veglia posted on Facebook that Dom was with him in spirit at the arena to watch the team win it all.
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