LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — In December, Channel 13 aired a story about anchor Kelsey McFarland’s grandfather, Tom Kemp, who has been to nearly every UNLV football home game since the team’s inception in 1968.
He attended the first-ever game in 1968, the most recent Mountain West Conference Championship game, and has hardly missed a game in-between. The only exceptions are when the Rebels played at Las Vegas High school in 1970 and when he was sent to the hospital after being hit by a car.
“Otherwise, I don't think I missed a game,” Kemp said.
Those 56 years of loyalty paid off when UNLV’s first-ever quarterback, Bill Casey, saw the story on Channel 13.
“It just blew me away because he started talking about that game and he remembered everything about that game,” Casey said. “I thought I’d like to take him to lunch, meet him, hear some stories about the early days of Rebel football. If he remembered the first game, he’s probably going to remember me. Just don’t ask us what happened yesterday!”
To the surprise of Kemp, Casey decided to bring a couple of friends along: Hunkie Cooper, former Rebel star player and now UNLV’s director of player development, and Caleb Herring, former UNLV record-setting quarterback and now a UNLV radio analyst.
“And so, there were three UNLV football players here that Tom had seen us play every single game we ever played in college,” Casey added.
“It was an exciting time for me,” Kemp said.
The group sat with him at barbecue restaurant, Smoke and Fire, for two hours, talking about life and football.
“I wanted to get together with Bill, with Hunkie, and share that piece of history, share our perspective on it for someone who has been there through it all,” Herring said.
Cooper also invited Grandpa Tom to a practice when spring training begins.
“He’s been coming and paying for games and all he wants is to meet people, to meet Caleb and myself. To be so grateful at his age, this is kind of why you do it,” Cooper said.
That kindness will not be forgotten.
“That was amazing to me, that I deserve to be recognized. I just attended the games. I would have attended the games anyway,” Kemp said.
