CatsPause.com - Brooks: Negativity difficult to deal with

October 20, 2008

Matt May
CatsPause.com Senior Writer

Seven games into what was considered a transition year for Kentucky's football program the Cats sit 5-2 and are still, at least mathematically, a factor in the Southeastern Conference race.

From coach Rich Brooks' perspective you'd think the Cats were teetering on the edge of complete collapse. The outspoken Brooks spent the final 10 minutes of his weekly press luncheon wondering aloud why UK fans have continued to be so critical despite the Cats beginning a season at least 5-2 for only the fifth time in the past 20 years.

Frankly, Brooks doesn't understand it.

"I just find Kentucky football an interesting phenomenon," Brooks said. "What our team has been trying to do is change the culture of Kentucky football. I think we've done that but some people don't get it. I'm thrilled that we're sitting here picking away at every little thing on our team and we're 5-2. Four years ago people would have been shooting off fireworks at 5-2 but not now. I don't have a problem with that but there is a difference between having a problem with that and just being negative to be negative."

UK's shocking come-from-behind victory over Arkansas last Saturday night was the impetus for Brooks' disdain. The Cats rallied for two touchdowns in the final 4:15 of the game to turn a 13-point deficit into a 21-20 triumph. It was the 10th win in the last 15 games decided by 10 points or less and moved UK's record to 18-8 in the past 26 games overall.

Yet, Brooks was baffled by fans heading for the exits early in the fourth quarter of the Arkansas game and by the continued negative connotations that so many people in UK's fan base hold on to.

"After the last two years? No, I don't (think fans should have left) but that's their prerogative," Brooks said. "I wasn't very happy at that stage of the game either and I'm looking for everything I can on the sideline to get our players back into it mentally. That's part of the cascading affect that can have a real negative attitude on your football team. When those things happen around you you have to be strong enough to not let them affect you.

"I find it interesting about the perception of Kentucky football. What's the 'Bluegrass Miracle'? Now, you would think the Arkansas game might be better termed the 'Bluegrass Miracle' on the positive side so our 'Bluegrass Miracle' is a negative thing with Kentucky football. I find that very interesting. I find it interesting that you get more phone calls after a loss on the call-in shows than you do after a win. You might call that negativity, you know, the old glass half full, glass have empty."

To be fair, the UK fans were not the ones responsible for immortalizing LSU's stunning 2002 Hail Mary game-winner with the catch phrase 'Bluegrass Miracle' but Brooks was accurate in that UK followers still refer to that dark day in their football history by that name.

The criticism that sparked Brooks' opinion had grown in recent weeks, as a painfully young offense struggled to find any traction against speedy SEC defenses. The unit averaged just 247 yards of total offense in games against Alabama and South Carolina and sputtered mightily in the first three quarters against Arkansas before breaking out at the end. One particularly aggressive fan was heard heckling sophomore quarterback Mike Hartline from behind the bench so mercilessly that the young signal caller offered some choice words in response after throwing the game-winning touchdown pass.

"I was frustrated but I was excited," Hartline said after the game. "I was trying to get the fans to believe in us. We had a saying the last few years, 'We Believe!' and that had kind of gone away. There have been so many games around here that have come down to the final few minutes so it was disappointing to see them leave, but hopefully next time they won't."

Brooks admitted it hasn't been easy trying to keep the negativity from creeping into the locker room. He understands where the talk comes from but it doesn't change the affect it's had on trying to build a winning program.

"Yes it has been (a challenge)," Brooks said. "It's part of the process of trying to change what's happening and reacting to what's happened in that past with Kentucky football to make it a more positive environment. It's not easy.

"I understand why it's not easy, because people get disappointed. People get very disappointed. They invest their emotions in a product and a team and they don't want to be disappointed and when they get disappointed they get mad. I understand all that."

Having gone through a similar rebuilding job at Oregon, Brooks said there are some similarities but more than anything he just hopes UK's fan base takes a different approach from here on out.

"We didn't have any fans in the stands (at Oregon)," Brooks said. "There's a parallel and it was they didn't believe we could win. There was more apathy there. There's not apathy here there is just negativity in my opinion."

Matt May is the football beat reporter for The Cats' Pause. If you have questions or comments about the Cats e-mail him here.

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