Every dog has his day; have you heard that one?
How about, what comes around goes around?
Or…ah, forget it. My point is; the Blazers are coming off an exciting year that left the city looking forward to more. The Timbers – in their 2nd season – made a deep run into the MLS playoffs. The Beavers, while disappointed in their finish, ended the college baseball regular season atop the rankings and as the #1 seed in college baseball’s version of March Madness. And the Ducks, have annually put themselves in college football’s national championship conversation, and just completed the NCAA track season with a men’s national title. Those dogs have had their day and in those specific places “it” has come around, but while centrally located in the heart of the Rose City and genuinely interested in having a successful program, Viking football is and has been an afterthought for the bulk of sports’ fans passionate about their teams.
It hasn’t always been that way. As a kid, I vaguely remember the tail-end of the Mouse Davis era and fondly recollect the Pokey Allen years. Times remembered by offense, notable quarterbacks, and points…lots of them. But since the days of yesteryear, coaches have come and gone, and the fans…they’ve just gone.
Last season the Vikings drew just over 5,000 people per game. That’s down more than 13% from the year before and the lowest number since 1986 in the current venue (Previously Civic Stadium). The average attendance for FCS programs nationwide is just over 8,000, and the average Big Sky attendance is nearly 9,000, led by Montana who draws nearly 25,000 per game. In a nutshell; the Vikings aren’t getting it done.
Portland State isn’t behind the eight ball of a small town, nor does it suffer from a geographical handicap like many of its counterparts located in…let’s just say undesirable locales. It’s in a relatively big city, plays in – thanks to the Portland Timbers – a quality FCS venue, and offers recruits a campus atmosphere infrequently found outside of the FBS. Yet, in spite of what I’d deem built-in advantages over schools like Montana, Weber State and Northern Arizona, the Vikings continue to struggle gaining a foothold in a conference which should be ripe for the picking.
Entering his 5th season, Head Coach Nigel Burton will once again be tackling the task of graduating from “competing,” to winning in a conference that has just been a little better. Last year, PSU ended the season with consecutive 1-point defeats en route to a disappointing 6-6 record. They felt like a playoff team, but like a number of the stanzas prior to it, the season that could’ve been, ultimately wasn’t for what’s become an also-ran of FCS football.
Since moving up to the then NCAA Division I-AA, the perennial Division II power Vikings have been mired somewhere between the bottom and the middle of the pack of a fairly good Big Sky Conference. While competitive in most years, they’ve continually fallen short against the big boys when the rubber’s met the road. Leaving them without a conference title and still longing for the inaugural playoff appearance that has escaped them for 16 seasons.
I’ve had enough.
They’ll never be the Blazers in Portland, will always look up at their fellow tenant (Portland Timbers) in Providence Park, and the Ducks and Beavers are on a different level, but the Portland State Vikings can and should be better, and they definitely should matter more to a city known to embrace even the tiniest of teams (see the Winterhawks). I can’t tell you what they need to do, nor how they should go about doing it regarding becoming relevant amidst the “City of Weird,” but they’re long overdue, and I’m mandating that the coach, the school, and this city do something about it.
So it be said, so it be done.
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