As I watched Joker Phillips get introduced today as the next football coach at the University of Kentucky, one thing stood out to me above all others, his respect for Coach Rich Brooks. I think Joker's comments about how Brooks' respect amongst the Commonwealth would be even greater once he had left are absolutely true. The ole' man from Oregon came here when no one else wanted to be here. Let me repeat, no one else wanted to be here. He took up the reigns and has developed a program that has to be respected week in and week out and a program of great men. Kentucky fans may not realize it now and may not realize next year or the year after that, but we were truly lucky to have a guy like Rich Brooks come in, pick us back up off the floor after probation and everything else, dust us off and point us in the right direction. You can argue the point that we didn't beat Tennessee, Florida or South Carolina in his tenure, but who would have ever thought seven years ago that Kentucky would be primed to go to four straight bowl games and win three of them while also knocking off the big boys in the process? The high points and the landmarks reached in this program far outweigh the losses and what ifs in my opinion. Because of his experience and age, Brooks was able to tune out the noise and develop a sense of pride back into the program, something not many people could have done and something younger coaches would have done until they could move on. Brooks has helped make this place a program to stay at, not a stepping stone job. As a Kentucky fan who has had season tickets through the 1-11 years and to now, all I can say is thank you. Thanks for making it fun to be a UK football fan again. He got us to this point and now it is Joker's turn to hopefully help us step even farther.
posted by Chris Diggs
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