Portland State Magazine Winter 2016

22 pORTLAND STATE MAGAZINE winter 2016 wr i t t e n b y Harry E s t eve Bruce Barnum makes winners out of a struggling PSU football program IT’S SATURDAY NIGHT , and inside the packed Kingston Bar and Grill in Southwest Portland bedlam is in full swing. The Portland State Vikings football team has just won another game. Fans, decked out in green PSU gear, jostle beers, slap high-fives and celebrate loudly—a frenzied display not seen in more than a decade. What was once a losing team, potentially headed for extinction, is suddenly the talk of the town. The person responsible for this unlikely turnaround hasn’t arrived yet. He’s down in the lower reaches of the Vikings’ home field, Providence Park, watching a live-feed of his son’s high school football game. The game ends. PSU football Coach Bruce Barnum shuffles across the street to the bar, where he’s promised to buy everyone the first round. Inside, he gets a hero’s welcome. “Barn-y ball! Barn-y ball!” some chant. Barnum grins. “He’s, like, the people’s champ,” Kingston manager Brian Mason shouts over the hubbub. “And the people love him for that.” people’s champ