Mark Pope's Homecoming was the unexpected, untouchable moment Kentucky needed

It’s wild to think that just one week ago, the news broke that John Calipari was leaving Kentucky for Arkansas. The seven days since have felt both like a lifetime and a millisecond. That’s why it’s so great that we get to end this exhausting week in the best way possible: a party in a packed Rupp Arena to celebrate Mark Pope’s homecoming and the start of a new era for Kentucky Basketball. It was an afternoon that served both as nostalgia and an opportunity for the fanbase to come back together. The emotional response shows you just how much it was needed.

Before we get into what happened at Rupp Arena, I think it’s important to look back at how we got here. As mentioned, the Calipari to Arkansas news broke last Sunday night. After Kentucky’s loss to Oakland in the first round of the NCAA Tournament a few weeks prior, most fans believed a separation was needed. When it became clear in the days after that wasn’t going to happen, we listened to Calipari and Mitch Barnhart talk about the road ahead, only to find out it was all a farce. Regardless, Calipari exited on his terms, leaving Kentucky free to use his buyout money to find a new coach and support the rebuild with NIL funds. The search was on, and the Big Blue Nation was ready for it.

Scott Drew was the first big candidate on the list. While his family secretly flew to Lexington to check things out, fans called the Mexican restaurant where Drew was eating with a Baylor booster to get the scoop. Chip Gaines, Baylor alum and HGTV superstar, even entered the chat, chopping it up with UK fans on Twitter. Once Drew bowed out, Kentucky and BBN focused on Danny Hurley and the offer he surely could not refuse. He did, choosing instead to stay at UConn. Next up, Billy Donovan? Bruce Pearl or any of the big names in Tier Two?

Instead, it was Mark Pope. Kentucky fans know and love Pope, the captain of the Untouchables who has been performing well at BYU, but the quick turnaround from big fish to Pope was whiplash to a fanbase terrified of the wrong hire. Skepticism was high. After only winning one NCAA Tournament game in the past four years, Kentucky just hired a guy who had won none. If you were worried on Thursday night, you were human.

That brings us to Friday. Sleep helps everything. So does a convincing interview from Mitch Barnhart on KSR and a powerful endorsement from Rick Pitino, two of the more improbable things on my BBN bingo card, but they both played big parts in getting fans on board with Pope. As the weekend went on, Pope’s former teammates made the media rounds, speaking up for their captain and sharing why they believe he’s the man for the job. The Pope family made their way to Lexington, and just after landing, Pope sent a voicemail to every student and season ticket holder. Excitement was building.

Opening the press conference to the public was one of the smartest decisions Kentucky has made in years. Just this morning, officials at UK and Rupp Arena estimated only 7,000 or so fans would attend. They set up the stage on one sideline and covered parts of the arena with banners so the bare sections wouldn’t look as bad on television.

Boy, were they wrong. Fans started lining up this morning at 8:30 a.m., the first coming from Knoxville, Tennessee. As the day went on, the line grew larger, snaking down High Street. I came into Rupp through the garage off Manchester Street, so I missed seeing the crowd outside. My first glimpse came as I walked onto the court to see most of the lower bowl and part of the upper filled in. Even then, it was an amazing sight.

Over the next 30 minutes, more and more fans streamed in, dancing to a 1990s playlist. Some wore pope hats, others robes, and one an entire pope costume, drawing giant cheers from the crowd when he was shown on the jumbotron. Parents lifted their children Simba style when the camera came their way and one fan hilariously took his shirt off and whipped it around his head (surprisingly, it was not Ryan Lemond). “Mony Mony” played at one point, and I almost expected Dancing Guy to shimmy down a guardrail.

As we sat on the court, I couldn’t stop looking around. The energy in the building was unlike anything I’ve seen in all my years of coming to games and covering them. When the first “Go Big Blue” chant broke out, it was better than any dunk or three-pointer. It was home. The Big Blue Nation was finally back together as one.

By the time the lights dimmed, the arena wasn’t just full; it was packed to the brim, with fans sitting on steps and standing in the concourse (a fire marshall’s worst nightmare, I’m sure). Five thousand were turned away at the door. Two intro videos played over the screens, both of which we’d seen before, but had new meanings. Seeing the montage of big plays throughout the program’s history set to “Dream On” and “Bittersweet Symphony” is enough to get me hyped on any day, but knowing what was about to come through the big door on the Rupp Arena floor was like Kentucky Basketball fan fiction.

Sure enough, as a photo of Mark Pope holding the 1996 National Championship trophy showed on the screen, the bus pulled onto the Rupp floor. Former players from the program’s many storied eras came off the bus one by one (by the way, it was Pope’s decision to include them all). The loudest ovation came, of course, for Pope, who hoisted the 1996 trophy above his head once again, creating a core memory for a new generation. As Tom Leach so wonderfully put it, “The Captain is now the coach.”

You don’t need me to tell you Mark Pope killed the press conference. You saw it. I had no doubt he’d flourish in that setting. Pope was bold, embracing the program’s high expectations from the jump, telling Mitch Barnhart to make room for more banners in the rafters. He even took a few not-so-subtle shots at John Calipari, telling the crowd his teams will raise banners in Nashville because “that matters,” mentioning the Maui Invitational, talking about the importance of switching up defenses, and, above all, finding players who understand that wearing the Kentucky jersey is one of the greatest honors of their lives.

Calipari’s name was never mentioned, but it didn’t need to be. John Calipari brought Kentucky back to the highest of highs and for that, we will be forever grateful; however, the past several years have worn on everyone, even Cal, to the point a change was needed, no matter how hard each party tried to deny it. There was no better proof of that than what happened today a Rupp, a moment fans who had never been to the building before waited in line for, thousands unable to get in. Just to be there.

Time will tell whether or not Mark Pope will be successful at Kentucky. But he won today. Sure, it was just a press conference, but it was much more than that. It was both a homecoming and a celebration. A needed reminder of what makes this program and its fans so special. A chance to show that Kentucky Basketball, no matter what, is untouchable.