No, he didn’t meet his forever person on the uptown A train like fiancés Anastasia Gregory and Spencer Seabaugh, nor did he find “American Idol” fame after launching a crooning career on station platforms like singer Just Sam.
Instead, the subway system, which celebrates its 120th anniversary Sunday, gave McGuire a career spotlighting the commuters, kooks, trendsetters and go-getters buzzing beneath the city’s surface.
“The subway is like the eighth wonder of the world,” McGuire, 40, founder of virtual people-watching hub @SubwayCreatures, told The Post.
His viral vids include everything from early sightings of Gotham’s legendary “Pizza Rat” to clips of Grammy winner Ed Sheeran belting out “Eyes Closed” with subway performer Mike Yung.
“Down there,” said McGuire, a New Jerseyan-turned-Brooklynite, “you’re surrounded by some of the most fascinating humans.”
“People moving around New York City,” he added, “where they are free to be themselves.”
“One of the best things I’ve ever seen in the subway was, years ago, there was a person whose luggage wheel got stuck between the train and the platform,” he said. “The guy was panicking because the train wasn’t able to leave until that wheel was loosened.
“So everyone got off of the subway car and pushed the train until the wheel broke free. It was one of those really awesome New York moments when strangers work together — but not necessarily to be helpful,” he laughed. “They all just didn’t want to be late to wherever they were going.”
Here are more unforgettable subway memories New Yorkers shared with The Post.
Thomas Trube, 54, of University Place, was listening to music while waiting for the N-R trains at 34th Street when something rat-tled him.
“As I was looking around, I saw people pointing at me on the platform and screaming,” he said. “I didn’t know what to do and I didn’t know what they were pointing at, so I ignored it. Then I saw someone really screaming at me and they were pointing down and I saw this huge rat sitting on my shoe,” he said.
“Without missing a beat, I kicked my foot as the subway doors opened and the rat went flying into the train car. It was like a full horror film, people were screaming as the door closed — banging on the windows.
“I missed my train.”
“Without missing a beat, I kicked my foot as the subway doors opened and the rat went flying into the train car. It was like a full horror film, people were screaming as the door closed — banging on the windows.
Queens native Jocelyn Alonzo, 21, didn’t imagine that her choice of footwear could earn her a few bucks while riding the 2 train.
“A guy approached me and he was like, ‘Can I take pictures of your socks?’ ” Alonzo said. “He was offering money. What did I do? I was like, yeah.”
While initially shocked by his proposal, she couldn’t deny herself the free cash, so she slipped her rainbow-colored socks out of her shoe and posed for the camera.
“Obviously, the guy definitely had a foot fetish, it was so weird,” she chuckled. “But I was like, hey, this is New York you know, it’s probably common to do this type of weird things.”
Bushwick resident Bryan Montanez, 28, loves the subway system and insists more good than bad happens.
However, he has seen “some crazy fights” — most notably on a recent J train excursion.
“I saw a man get woken up at 1 a.m.,” he recalled. “He completely beat [the man who woke him up] and then apologized to the rest of the train. He said ‘I’m sorry guys, I was just sleeping.’