PIKEVILLE, Ky. — The University of Kentucky moved its annual Blue-White game to eastern Kentucky this year to help those devastated by the historic floods.
The Monday following the game, a Pikeville coal miner went viral without knowing it. Micheal McGuire was inside the coal mine when University of Kentucky men’s basketball coach John Calipari posted a picture that caught his eye. It was of a coal-covered McGuire and his son Eston at the Blue-White game. He came straight to the game from his underground office to Appalachian Wireless Arena in Pikeville.
When Micheal’s wife, Mollie, got a phone call from a number she didn’t recognize, the last person she thought would be on the other end was Coach Calipari.
“It was about 2:30 p.m. Monday evening and my phone rang,” Mollie McGuire said. “Didn’t know anything about it, answered the phone and it was Coach Cal.”
This is how the conversation went between Coach and Mollie McGuire.
“What did he say? Coach Cal said. Mollie McGuire replied, “He had not heard yet.” Calipari continued, “What?” Mollie McGuire answered coach saying, “He’s still underground.”
“I was late getting off work and just didn’t have time to go home and shower and had to come straight to the game,” Micheal Mcguire said. “My wife and Easton had already gone in and got seats and when I got service, I called and told them I was on my way.”
The picture reminded Calipari of his grandfather who did the same work.
Currently, the post has over 15,000 retweets on Twitter and 72,000 likes on Facebook.
“You’re bringing light to a good man, a hardworking Kentuckian, a coal miner, who does everything he can to make time for his family and his son and his daughter,” Coach John Calipari said. “Come on, that’s what it ends up being. That’s the story.”
Calipari offered the McGuire family a VIP experience at Rupp Arena to any game of their choice. For Mollie, Micheal’s actions aren’t anything new for the family.
“It’s hard work, he’s sore, he’s tired, but it doesn’t stop when he gets home. He gets on the floor, he plays with our kids. He’s a great dad,” Mollie McGuire said. “For me as his wife, it’s a wonderful feeling knowing he’s seeing that appreciation from other people than his immediate family.”
A basketball fanatic, a husband and above all else a loving father.
“It’s one of those things I don’t want to miss anything, so I’m right there, any chance I can be,” Micheal McGuire said.
The McGuire family has chosen the UK vs. Kansas game and will be VIP’s on January 28.