“Mark Pope’s Wife Roasts Him for Saying ‘Beautiful’ and ‘Special’ Too Much

“Mark Pope’s Wife Roasts Him for Saying ‘Beautiful’ and ‘Special’ Too Much — And Big Blue Nation Can’t Stop Laughing”

Mark Pope wears his heart on his sleeve. Whether he’s talking about the players who give their all for Kentucky, the roar of the Rupp Arena crowd, or the bond he shares with the fanbase, he doesn’t hold back. But while many in Big Blue Nation love his passion, there’s one person who thinks he might be laying it on just a little too thick  his wife, Lee Anne Pope.

During a recent appearance on Kentucky Sports Radio, Pope was in the middle of a heartfelt explanation about his admiration for Kentucky commit Travis Perry when co-host Ryan Lemond couldn’t help but send a live text to Matt Jones. The reason? Pope had just said “special” three times in rapid succession. It wasn’t lost on Matt or the audience  and certainly not on Pope himself.

“I’m not mad at you,” Pope chuckled, addressing Ryan’s jab. “Because Lee Anne crushes me. She’s like, ‘Would you stop saying beautiful?’ At one point, I was saying breathtaking. She’s like, ‘Can you please grow your lexicon so you can have some other words to say besides special and beautiful?’”

According to Pope, it’s become such a running joke in their household that he’s considering putting a notecard at his desk with a list of synonyms  just to spice things up a bit. “I’m actually gonna put a card down there with some synonyms for my hyperbolic words,” he joked.

But just how bad is the “problem”? A quick count during the interview found that “special” was used 12 times, while “beautiful” came in at 6. “Breathtaking” made a surprise appearance too  when Pope was describing Jaxson Robinson’s remarkable defense and leadership during a tough stretch when both Lamont Butler and Kerr Kriisa were sidelined.

“What Jax has done the last three or four games defensively is breathtaking, and toughness-wise is incredible,” Pope said. “And hitting the insanely difficult shot in overtime period to boot. He was really special, man.”

It’s become a signature part of Pope’s style  a blend of emotion, reverence, and an open admiration for the program and the people in it. And let’s be honest: if you’re going to overuse words, “beautiful” and “special” aren’t the worst ones to lean on.

But what makes it all so endearing is that Pope doesn’t just preach it  he lives it. The rest of his interview with KSR proved that. In one moment, he playfully teased Ryan Lemond for not taking his shirt off yet (a nod to Lemond’s long-standing on-air antics), and in another, he shared a story that perfectly captures his connection to the fanbase.

Pope described a moment when a fan  an amateur artist  came to his office with a painting of Pope from his introductory press conference. The fan brought along four of his friends, all around Pope’s age, and they sat down together just to talk basketball, life, and Kentucky.

During the conversation, one of the men said something that stuck with Pope: “When I get up in the morning, the first thing I do is check what’s going on with Kentucky, then I’m listening to KSR while I’m working, and then after dinner, I’ll go check to see what else has happened with the Cats.”

That prompted Pope to make a touching comparison: “KSR is like the village well.” Drawing from his experiences on service trips to Africa, Pope described how the village well is a central point where everyone gathers throughout the day. It’s not just about the water  it’s about the people, the connection, the conversations.

“What matters is that there are all these people coming to the well,” Pope said. “And the well is a special place.”

There’s that word again.

And you know what? He’s not wrong.

Kentucky basketball is different. It’s not just a team  it’s a culture, a lifestyle, a community that stretches far beyond the walls of Rupp Arena. Pope gets that. He embraces it. And even if his vocabulary could use a little more variety, his heart is exactly where it should be.

So if you hear Pope call a player “special” or a game “beautiful” for the hundredth time this season, smile. That’s not just coach speak  that’s Mark Pope, living and breathing the Kentucky experience. And if his wife slips him a thesaurus for Christmas, well… that’s just love.