Snoop Dogg welcomed by excited Swansea fans as rival manager joked about 'weed smell' in the tunnel
Swansea City football club co-owner Snoop Dogg was greeted with twirling towels and a guard of honour on his first visit to the Welsh club.
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The American rapper, who is a minority owner of the Sky Bet Championship club alongside American television host Martha Stewart and Croatia international Luka Modric, made his first appearance at the Swansea.com Stadium for Tuesday's clash with Preston North End which finished 1-1.
Earlier in the day, he had requested a sold-out crowd to be in their seats ahead of kick-off to twirl the complimentary towels - a staple action for supporters in American sport.
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A post on Swansea's official X account read: "@SnoopDogg is asking the Jack Army to join him in a pre-match towel twirl this evening.
"Fans are encouraged to be in their seats 20 minutes before kick-off, and to twirl the towels as Snoop walks on the pitch."
The post was accompanied by a short video of the 54-year-old showing how he would like fans to do it.
The crowd had obviously watched the video as Snoop took to the field through a guard of honour made up of 20 youngsters representing Wales at the 2026 Street Child World Cup in North America.
Dressed in the club's all-white colours, with a Swansea crest on his jacket, dark glasses and a beanie hat, the rapper made a pre-match lap of honour as fans twirled their towels with rock music booming in the background.
Snoop Dogg saluted the fans, shook hands with some, and had photographs taken with others. Club mascot Cyril the Swan even got a hug.
He eventually disappeared down the tunnel seven minutes later just before a light show started prior to kick-off.
Swansea boss Vitor Matos said: "After the game he came to the dressing room and spoke with the players.
"He's someone that likes to be involved, not only with us but with the (United States) Olympic team as well.
"He loves sports, loves sports people. He loves the club, loves the city, and wants to be here.
"I think that's all positive and he was really happy because he felt that the team had the right mentality. He felt that the team could push."
Swansea's late point took them up one place to 14th and eight points from Wrexham, who are occupying the final play-off spot.
Preston boss Paul Heckingbottom downplayed the occasion and atmosphere created by Snoop Dogg's walkabout before kick-off.
Heckingbottom joked that the only difference to other Championship games was the smell of illicit drugs, with Snoop Dogg having built a public persona around his copious marijuana intake.
"It's only different for people who are here every week, isn't it?" Heckingbottom said.
"We don't play at Swansea every week, so it's no different for us.
"We go away to Ipswich the other week, they were at it, their fans were at it, and that was noise all game. I felt we kept everyone quiet here until the end."
Snoop's visit was announced last week and he said on the club's official website: "I know it has been a long time coming, but I cannot wait to finally make my first visit to Swansea.
"From the moment we talked about me becoming an owner, I have been looking forward to the chance to be with you all at the Swansea.com Stadium.
"I have heard so many great things about the atmosphere, especially when we play under the lights.
"When I watched the Wrexham game, where we showed we are the capital of Welsh football, the noise in the stadium sounded incredible even from over 5,000 miles away. I can't wait to be a part of it."
The rapper, who arrived at the stadium nearly three hours before the 7.45pm kick-off, joined the Swansea ownership group last July and made his way to south-west Wales after being at the Winter Olympics, where he served as Team USA's honorary coach as well as a special correspondent for broadcaster NBC.
The celebrity visit had created so much excitement that a 21,000 record crowd was expected at the Swansea.com Stadium, which opened in 2005.
The rapper hit the headlines at the Winter Olympics when he asked British curlers Bruce Mouat and Jennifer Dodds for a photo.
Known for hits such as Gin And Juice and Drop It Like It's Hot, Snoop Dogg has had a successful three-decade music career, having topped the UK charts and received 16 Grammy nominations.