There's a saying that applies to the Vikings' stadium situation. Goes something like this, "It's never as good as it looks, and it's never as bad as it seems."
Earlier this week, the House Government Operations and Elections committee shot down the Vikings’ stadium bill. Afterward, there was a lot of hand wringing and gloom.
An NFL official said there are willing buyers of the Vikings – a more-than-subtle hint the franchise could be sold and moved.
It seems bad. Real bad.
But remember, it's never as bad as it seems.
As Miracle Max said in "The Princess Bride" movie, "There's a big difference between mostly dead and all dead. Mostly dead is slightly alive."
The Vikings are slightly alive. At the moment, they're sort of in a suspended state.
It was like that for the Twins, too. Back when they were trying to get Target Field, they were rejected in a legislative committee -- just like the Vikings.
Jerry Bell, the Twins' point man for a stadium, told the Pioneer Press that the Vikings are "in the exact same position as we were in 2005."
At the time, Bell and Twins owner Carl Pohlad were ready to say to heck with it.
In the next legislative session, the deal got done. It was the exact same deal that had failed in the previous session.
It took a lot of time and a lot of patience.
Bell, who worked more than a decade to get the Twins their new ballpark, said the Vikings "just have to have the stars lined up the right way." He also said, "They will get it. I’m positive they will. I just don’t think it’s going to happen this year.”
And he's probably right.
The Vikings will get their new stadium.
Just not this year.
