Anybody that knows anything about central Kentucky knows that people’s blood bleeds blue there, Kentucky Wildcat blue. College basketball is a religion there and the people are exuberant worshippers.
Maybe none so beautifully as Kentucky coal miner Michael McGuire, 29. A picture of his has gone viral because it was a heart-bursting example of a hardworking father who would do whatever it takes to be with his family.
According to “The Athletic,” McGuire worked a long shift in a coal mine that was supposed to end at 4 p.m., but he did not get off until 5 p.m. He had tickets to see the annual University of Kentucky Blue-White scrimmage game at Appalachian Wireless Arena with his family, so he drove straight from work. He entered the arena covered in coal dust just because he did not want to miss his 3-year-old son’s first Kentucky basketball game.
“It’s normal for us,” his wife, Mollie, told The Athletic. “It’s nothing for us to go out to eat or him to come to our son’s tee-ball games or family events covered in coal dust … So we’ve just gotten used to it, coal dust everywhere. We’re kind of proud of it. It’s just what you’ve got to do around here to make a living.”
The public’s reaction to McGuire was not normal. John Calipari, the Hall of Fame coach for the Kentucky team, saw a picture of this father and it grabbed his heart.
“My family’s American dream started in a Clarksburg, WV coal mine, so this picture hits home,” he tweeted.
He also added that he wanted to find this family so that he could give them “VIP” treatment at Kentucky’s Rupp Arena when the regular season starts.
When word got to McGuire’s wife, Molly, she established a Twitter account and contacted the coach, he called Molly and they talked for half an hour.
Word got to Mollie who responded to Calipari’s tweet. “I was stunned,” Mollie told ESPN. The coach shared that his grandfather was a coal miner and how their ethics taught Calipari a valuable lesson about teamwork. “We go in together, we come out together. No one left behind, because we’re one crew,” he told Mollie. “That’s what I teach my team—that we’re one team and we can only do it together.”
Calipari let the family know that they could pick a Kentucky home game at Rupp Arena and they will get to have dinner with him, hang out at the pregame shoot-around and enjoy the view from court-side seats.
Thank you everyone for your incredible response to this. No one rallies like the #BBN!
We are looking forward to hosting @mcguire_mollie9, her husband Michael and their family at a game soon!! https://t.co/2OpC5tkjag
— John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) October 24, 2022
This is my Husband Micheal McGuire with our son Easton! Sorry I had to create a new twitter account. Lost access to my old account since I rarely use twitter. We can be reached by Instagram, Facebook or this Twitter account!
— Mollie Gail McGuire (@mcguire_mollie9) October 24, 2022
