LOUISVILLE, Ky. – A photo of a man and his son at a Kentucky Wildcats men’s basketball game has gone viral after a heartwarming tweet from the coach himself.
The photo shows Micheal Joe McGuire — an employee of Excel Mining (Alliance Coal) — sitting with his son, Easton, watching the Wildcats play during the annual blue-white scrimmage. That’s when he caught the eye of John Calipari, the head coach of the Kentucky team.
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The image paints the perfect picture of a hard-working father who drove straight from work to the game — showing up to spend as much time with his basketball-loving son as possible. Turns out, that’s exactly what happened.
“My family’s American dream started in a Clarksburg, WV coal mine, so this picture hits home,” the tweet said. “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!!”
Thank you everyone for your incredible response to this. No one rallies like the #BBN!
— John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) October 24, 2022
We are looking forward to hosting @mcguire_mollie9, her husband Michael and their family at a game soon!! https://t.co/2OpC5tkjag
The photo — which as of Wednesday evening had 166,000 likes and 15,000 retweets — gained the attention of thousands and sweet messages began pouring in.
“Provide me with the details and I will arrange car service for the evening. Men like this are the backbone of America!” one Twitter user wrote.
“Bless him and his family. Most people see a man who is covered in coal dust and dirty from head to toe and criticize him for it, his family see a loving husband and father, his son sees his hero taking him to watch his favorite team. Thank you,” another user wrote.
“Big respect for that dad. We can argue the merits of our sports teams all day long but I’ve got a huge amount of respect for a dad being there for his son. Nice gesture and sentiment by Coach Cal as well,” another on Twitter wrote.
Mollie McGuire, Micheal’s wife, posted on social media that her husband started his morning at 4:45 a.m. and worked all day. He then drove straight to the game to spend time with his son.
“My amazing husband started his day at 4:45 a.m. that morning and worked all day. Then drove straight to the arena to meet us and enjoy the game with our son! We are truly blessed with such an amazing man, and beyond thankful! We love our coal miner.”
The family said Calipari promised the super fans “dream tickets to watch the Wildcats in Rupp Arena, new fan gear and even a dinner with the coach himself,” WDRB reports.