Coaches regularly use weekly radio appearances to promote their teams. It is a necessity at smaller colleges. Go on air, be charming, and win new fans. Portland State coach Bruce Barnum had a different idea last week when he appeared on John Canzano’s show The Bald Faced Truth on 750 The Game in Portland. He promised to get people drunk.
“I’ve got a deal for [the fans],” Barnum announced, “anybody that heard me on your show, just say ‘I heard Barney on the John Canzano Show (or BFT)’ – Barney’s Beer Garden will be in the end zone, I’m not buying your ticket, but I’ll buy your beer for the entire game.”
When Canzano asked the coach, who isn’t making anything close to the money that coaches in the SEC are, why he would do this, the answer was simple.
“I gotta get people to see my kids, I got a good team.”
Bruce Barnum made good on his promise too. It wasn’t cheap. In total, he paid the in-stadium bar $14,448. That was the cost of 1260 Coors Lights and 786 craft IPAs. Barnum tweeted out the evidence.
Hillsboro Stadium, the home of the Portland State Vikings, holds only 7600 people. That means if everyone that heard Bruce Barnum on The Bald Faced Truth bought a single beer, John Canzano and his show were responsible for filling 27% of the stadium.
For the record, the Vikings topped Western Oregon 21-7.
