Kentucky fans were absolutely furious when their university hired Mark Pope to replace John Calipari as the head basketball coach on Friday. Their tune completely changed by Sunday.
Credit to them for accepting the circumstances and getting behind one of their own.
Pope was hired away from BYU after Scott Drew, Nate Oats and Dan Hurley said no. He played two seasons in Lexington and won a national title with the Wildcats in 1996. The hire makes a ton of sense.
However, Kentucky fans were extremely embarrassed that their first choices said no and completely melted down online. Once they came to their senses, they realized that Pope is someone with a proven track record (outside of the NCAA Tournament, where he has never won) and will bring a lot of energy to the program. They also realized that reality is reality, and “Schianoing” him away would be even worse.
Kentucky fans rallied behind Mark Pope.
As a result of their acceptance, Big Blue Nation packed into Rupp Arena as if it was a home game for Mark Pope’s introductory press conference. Fans started to line up more than four hours before it started.
A line was wrapped around the building and up the street with more than an hour to go.
Pope, who drove himself to his own press conference, was mobbed by fans upon arrival.
He is so excited for the opportunity to coach at his alma mater and immediately showed his appreciation for the fans who are (now) supporting him.
Kentucky ultimately decided to let people in early because the scene outside was causing so many issues. It was that busy in downtown Lexington.
And as soon as people were allowed inside, they filled the seats like a home game. Fans were forced to sit behind the curtain — where they could not see anything except for the jumbotron — with 30 minutes remaining on the countdown.
Meanwhile, this was the scene outside:
It was a raucous environment… for a press conference!
Credit to Big Blue Nation where credit is due. Although they made themselves the laughing stock of college basketball for a few days, they put the past in the past and showed up for Mark Pope!