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Portland State’s coach will buy you all the beer you can drink if you watch his team play

It’s the deal of the century.

Portland State v Arkansas
Portland State v Arkansas
Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images
James Dator
James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.

In what might be the greatest bargain in sports history, Portland State head coach Bruce Barnum is offering to buy anyone who come to his team’s home opener as much beer as they can drink. It’s either the greatest idea in sports history, or a guaranteed way to bankrupt a coach.

Appearing on local radio in Portland, Barnum knows that it’s a tough sell for local residents to come to a Portland State game over watching Oregon or Oregon State, so he’s sweetening the pot.

“I’ve got a deal for you,” Barnum announced, “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.

Now, on the surface this might seem like a fairly low-risk gamble. I mean, how many people were listening to Portland State’s head coach on local radio make a promise like this? That’s why I consider it my public service to amplify this message to as many people who can take advantage of it.

This is absolutely not a one-and-done deal either. Barnum did not say “a beer,” he made it abundantly clear it was as much as you want.

How many beers?

Said Barney: “All of them.”

I certainly don’t want to destroy a man’s generous offer by telling the entire city of Portland and the greater area that they should pay the $10 for a ticket to Portland State when they play Western Oregon at 2 p.m. on Saturday. And it would be extremely reckless of me to provide you with an easy link to purchase your tickets online before they sell out, so you can ensure you take full advantage of this free beer offer. That would just be silly.

So, instead of doing something that foolish, I’ll just wish the best of luck to Portland State — and to Coach Bruce Barnum’s wallet, because it might need all the help it can get.

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