Photo: Getty Images
A Kentucky coal miner who rushed straight from work to take his family to a University of Kentucky Wildcats practice game is now on the list for "Father of the Year" and earned praise from legendary coach John Calipari, who shared a picture of him and expressed admiration for his hard work and dedication to his son.
The no viral photo, shows Michael McGuire and his son sitting in the stands at Saturday's Kentucky game.
McGuire is still wearing his work uniform and heavy boots and his face and arms are covered in black coal dust.
McGuire told the local news station that he only had about 45 minutes to get to the game when he got off work on Saturday and he didn't want to miss his son Easton's first basketball experience.
"It was either go straight there, or miss half the game to go home and take a shower and everything," he told the local news.
Coach Calipari shared the photo on Twitter and said that UK had connected with the family, saying “Thank you everyone for your incredible response to this. No one rallies like the BBN!” He went on to say, “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!!”