Big Blue Nation’s approval rating of Mark Pope has never been higher. Initially hesitant about the hire, Kentucky fans were all in when he was introduced to a packed crowd at Rupp Arena. That momentum continued to build as he added players from the transfer portal and it reached a crescendo at Big Blue Madness when Rick Pitino received a warm welcome back to Camelot.
Mark Pope could do no wrong. The night before his first exhibition game as the Kentucky head basketball coach, he made a grave mistake.
Mark Pope completely threw his wife under the bus.
The 6-foot-10 former power forward sticks out like a sore thumb, especially when he’s standing in the middle of South Broadway. That is where Kentucky fans found him on Tuesday afternoon when his car was sitting idle after running out of gas.
The Kentucky head coach was asked by the Field of 68 crew what led to the traffic jam. Rather than biting the bullet and taking all the blame, he explained that he was not the culprit. Pope was actually playing the role of superhero after his wife, Lee Anne, ran out of gas on the busy four-lane road.
“I had a great event this morning. We’re starting a Zoom compliance meeting — Lee Anne is going to kill me, by the way,” said the head coach. He’s not wrong. She’s probably going to kill him.
He continued, “But we’re starting a Zoom compliance meeting at 9 AM and I get a phone call at 9:01, and it’s Lee Anne. She’s just run out of gas on the busiest street in Lexington, like a mile away from here. So I get the GAs, we jump in the car, we run and the police are there. It’s this huge thing. We’re trying to get some gas, people are driving by and honking their horns, ‘Let’s go Cats!’ I mean, it’s just like, it’s every day. It’s just awesome. Come on man, it’s a good life.”
It may be a good life now. That will change when he gets home.
Not to be a Ryan Lemond here, but even if it is his wife’s fault, you can’t say that publicly. Let it slide, be the superhero who saved the day, and score some serious marriage points.
If there is one lesson we learned today, it’s that Mark Pope is honest to a fault.
