photo #9386183

He didn't have time to shower. He barely had time to get there.Kentucky coal miner Micheal McGuire had just finished a long shift underground when he headed straight for Appalachian Wireless Arena in Pikeville.His face and arms were still covered in coal dust. His heavy work clothes and boots were still on.Waiting for him were his wife and their 3-year-old son, Easton.The family had tickets to the University of Kentucky's Blue-White basketball scrimmage, and it was Easton's first time seeing the Wildcats play in person.McGuire had gotten out of the mine later than expected. Going home to clean up first would have meant missing a large part of the game.So he didn't."It was either go straight there or miss half the game to go home and take a shower and everything," he later told WKYT.Someone in the crowd noticed the coal-covered father sitting beside his little boy and took a photo.It spread quickly online and eventually reached Kentucky head coach John Calipari, whose own family has roots in coal mining.Calipari wanted to know who the man was.Once McGuire was identified, the coach invited his family to a Kentucky home game as VIP guests.Weeks later, the McGuires arrived at Rupp Arena aboard an official UK team bus. They sat behind the Kentucky bench, and McGuire was brought onto the court during the game to take part in the Wildcats' traditional "Y" ceremony.It all started because a dad decided he'd rather arrive covered in coal dust than arrive late. 💛