Have you been following the story about the coal miner who showed up to a University of Kentucky basketball game last weekend? He came straight from work to be there with his son and was COVERED in coal dust.
The man’s name is Michael McGuire and his wife Mollie told USA TODAY, “It’s not just his immediate family that appreciate him. It’s everyone. It’s all of eastern Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee. Everyone. He is appreciated. And I’m hoping that he feels that appreciation and that love once he realizes, you know, everything that’s happened.”
UK coach John Calipari posted the image on his Twitter and Instagram pages, where it quickly went viral.
“My family’s American dream started in a Clarksburg, WV coal mine, so this picture hits home,” Calipari wrote. “From what I’ve been told, after his shift, he raced to be with his son & watch our team. Don’t know who this is, but I have tickets for him & his family at Rupp to be treated as VIPs!!”
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McGuire chose tickets to their upcoming game against Kansas in January and businesses in Lexington also offered his family free meals and a hotel room while they’re in town.
I’ve thought a lot today about my grandfather, who worked underground in the mine. I’ve also had the privilege to go underground with miners in KY and a comment stuck out to me: “We go down together and we come up together.”
They work for each other. The ultimate teammates!!
— John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) October 24, 2022
I’ve thought a lot today about my grandfather, who worked underground in the mine. I’ve also had the privilege to go underground with miners in KY and a comment stuck out to me: “We go down together and we come up together.”
They work for each other. The ultimate teammates!!
— John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) October 24, 2022
