LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – University of Kentucky seniors Max Duffy and Luke Fortner visited the UK Children's Hospital once per week. When the COVID-19 pandemic forced those visits to stop, the hospital reached out to the football players to send a video message to the kids.
"Could you guys sing a song, or dance or read a book?" recalled Fortner, an offensive lineman for the Wildcats. "We're not quite the dancers or singers and we didn't have any children's books around, so … we kind of joked about making a talk show."
Fortner and Duffy, his roommate, taped a talk show using an iPhone. They decided to expand the show further and share it with friends and family, and it's since blossomed into a series shared on Kentucky football's official twitter account for members of the Big Blue Nation to enjoy.
In this week's In the Huddle, @LukeNV77 & @Max__Duffy discuss their pets, excitement before a game, if they can lift people over their heads. They’ve also asked for your help on ways to stay busy as they stay #healthyathome. Head over to our Facebook to watch! pic.twitter.com/cr6I1zHUdv
— Kentucky Children's (@KCHKids) April 14, 2020
"Lots of people have been tuning in, and we've been getting a few messages from all of our friends — guys on the team, family members and obviously all of BBN, which is the most important thing," Duffy said.
Duffy and Fortner have been roommates since August 2019 but found that doing the show has led them to learn even more about each other. Conversations that would not normally come up during casual chats sometimes surface on camera.
"I used to overhear him … talking about when he used to live in Slovenia," Duffy said. "I thought they meant Slovenia like the country. They meant Slovenia, Ohio. So, I was this whole time thinking, 'This is why Luke is such a smart guy. He grew up outside of America, too. That's why he's so cultured and such a good guy.' Nope, just Slovenia, Ohio."
Fortner learned a little about Australia, thanks to his teammate from the land down under.
"Like that in Australia, they don't call soccer 'Football,' which I thought they did," Fortner said.
Both players are unsure if the show, titled "Social Distancing with Max and Luke," will continue when (or if) the football season kicks off, but they said it could if BBN still wants to hear from them.
With no organized football activities to take part in, the Wildcats will keep taking their talents to Twitter.
"It's definitely something we look forward to now, just sitting down and laughing at each other," Fortner said. "Just happens to be on camera."
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