Portland State opens its home schedule on Saturday following a 2-game road swing that saw paycheck losses to Hawai'i and Washington State. Though the Vikings were defeated in both games and the final scoreboard showed margins of 14 and 20 points, they acquitted themselves well; the total first downs count was Warriors and Cougars 52, Vikings 49.
Head coach Bruce Barnum came away from those games feeling good about his team. And so for Saturday's home opener against Western Oregon -- the program's first home game since Nov. 9, 2019 -- Barnum wants a packed house and he's willing to put his money where his mouth is.
“I’ve got a deal for you,” Barnum said on The Bald Faced Truth with John Canzano radio show earlier this week, “anybody who heard me on your show... just say ‘I heard Barney on the BFT’ at the Barney Beer Garden and I’ll buy your beer.
“I’m not buying your ticket, but I’ll buy your beer.”
Portland State plays at Hillsboro Stadium, which holds 7,600 people. The Vikes drew 3,378 for their most recent home game against UC Davis way back in 2019. Oregon and Oregon State also play home games on Saturday afternoon.
Let's say 4,000 people attend and a quarter take them up on Barney's offer. We could be taking about a $5,000 commitment just to get some butts in seats to watch his team's game.
For a coach who once passed $15,000 of his bonus money onto his staff back, we shouldn't be surprised.
“I don’t care if you’re watching the Oregon (or Oregon State) game,” he said, “watch them on your phone. Buy your ticket and come to the game, I think you’ll like what you see.”