Society often undervalues humility as a virtue, and instead tends to judge people based on their appearance, occupation, or the size of their home.
Respect should be given to everyone, regardless of their life choices or circumstances.
Occasionally, a photo or video goes viral on the internet for all the right reasons, serving as a powerful reminder of the positivity that can arise when millions of people unite.
A photo from the University of Kentucky Blue-White basketball game went viral, reminding us of the power of positivity and bringing people together.
The photo of a soot-covered coal miner with his son at the @KentuckyMBB Blue-White Game captured hearts across the Big Blue Nation. Tonight, I talked with Michael McGuire and @mcguire_mollie9 about the photo that led to a shout-out from @UKCoachCalipari himself! @LEX18News pic.twitter.com/I9UumrKZKJ
— Sean Moody 🎥🎙📝📺 (@SeanMoodyNews) October 25, 2022
The viral photo features a coal miner father who hurried directly from work to attend the Appalachian Wireless Arena basketball game with his son on Saturday.
After a spectator took a photo of the coal miner dad at the game, it quickly went viral on the internet and even caught the attention of UK Head Basketball Coach John Calipari.
“My family’s American dream started in a Clarksburg, WV coal mine, so this picture hits home,” John 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!!“
Identifying the man in the coal-stained work attire as Michael McGuire from Pikeville, Kentucky, didn’t take much time at all.
During an interview, Michael McGuire from Pikeville, Kentucky, revealed that he had only 45 minutes to get from work to the game and was not willing to miss any part of his son Easton’s
“It was either go straight there, or miss half the game to go home and take a shower and everything,” Michael said.
According to reports, Michael was working deep underground on his shift while his photo was going viral online, thanks to Coach Calipari.
Michael added: “When I got out and got service on my way home, it went crazy…I couldn’t believe that it was real.”
Meet Michael McGuire! He’s the man in the viral photo @UKCoachCalipari shared today from the Blue and White game. I just talked to the Pikeville coal miner about the reaction to the picture and what it means to him to see BBN rally to help identify him. Story at 11 on WKYT! pic.twitter.com/ndtKbgFQ6k
— Chad Hedrick (@ChadHedrickWKYT) October 24, 2022
On Monday evening, Michael and the coach had a conversation where the latter offered him the VIP experience he had promised in his post.
Coach Calipari later took to Twitter and thanked the fans of Big Blue Nation for their help in identifying Michael McGuire.
Calipari tweeted: “Thank you everyone for your incredible response to this. No one rallies like the BBN!”
He added: “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!!”
The image of Michael and Easton captures the essence of the special relationship between a father and his son.