It has been an excruciating past 17+ hours for Vikings fans. Getting horribly humbled by the [REDACTED]. (Thanks Chris, I love the new policy.) Losing our only redeemable member of the secondary (Antoine Winfield) for the year. Losing any momentum the team had coming out of the win against Carolina and the bye week. Losing any faith that this team would be competitive down the stretch.

But at least there's a tiny sliver of sunshine in an otherwise horribly cloudy forecast for our Vikings. According to Rochelle Olson of the Star Tribune, the Ramsey County board has unanimously approved a purchase of 430 acres in Arden Hills with the intent of using it for a Vikings stadium.

Of course, there's still a big "if" involved. The $28.5 million deal is only legit if the state comes up with the money needed to pay for the remainder of the stadium cost. The county has until August 1, 2012 to back out of the deal without a penalty.

So now if Kurt Zellers & company can pull their heads out of...um, the sand...and get something approved (probably an even bigger "if"), the land will be ready and waiting.

Like I said, it's only a glimmer of hope, but today I think we'll take anything we can get.