Tom E. Curran • E-mail

MANKATO, Minn. - The challenge for the Minnesota Vikings now is to proceed as if nothing happened.

As if, team trainer Eric Sugarman had nothing better to do this summer than fly down to Hattiesburg, Miss., to check on Brett Favre’s arm. Twice.

As if Sugarman just needed company on that second trip and brought along offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell for a little conversation.

The trick now is to pretend that, if the names Sage Rosenfels, Brett Favre and Tarvaris Jackson were written on slips of paper and the man whose name was pulled would start the opener, nobody would be disappointed if Jackson’s name were pulled.

The trick now is to convince everyone that all the time, agitation, phone calls, effort, hope and damage done to the team concept in the Vikings’ pursuit of Brett Favre … just … doesn’t … matter.

Rosenfels tried to do exactly that Wednesday night, saying, “I’m not going to go into what could happen, what may happen and what didn’t happen. In these last three months, nothing happened, really.”

Nope, nothing at all. And the utter absurdity of even thinking the Vikings could be in any way impacted by the fact their two remaining quarterbacks were cuckolded all summer as the team chased the Mississippi Waffler, well, you’d have to be out of your mind.

Which is what coach Brad Childress insinuated Thursday during his “Welcome to training camp” press conference.

“We had a laugh with the team this morning,” Childress said. “(I said) if anybody thinks Sage Rosenfels or Tarvaris Jackson are going to scuff a pass and turn to me and say, ‘(&*%$), I wish you weren’t talking to Brett Favre,’ that’s preposterous.”

Why, yes it is.

But is it preposterous for Jackson to, at some point during this camp, indicate that he’s feeling a little jerked around?

Jackson is not a finished product, but the team is 10-9 in his 19 starts. He’s got more career touchdowns than picks. The job has been handed to him, taken away and handed back. The Vikings made no secret of their attraction for Rosenfels in 2008, then traded for him in 2009, and now Jackson’s supposed to feel confident and secure? I don’t think it’s preposterous for him — or one of the many Vikings who supports him — to voice their displeasure this offseason.

Is it preposterous to think Rosenfels’ efforts at being a leader, at “rallying the troops,” might be a little harder when all 11 faces in the huddle — including him — knows he wasn’t the guy this team wanted in that huddle.

I don’t think that’s preposterous.

Timeline Favre's retirement: the neverending story Tom Curran details all the key dates in Brett Favre's retirement choices, from 2002 to the present. NBCSports.com

I know, what were the Vikings supposed to do? They were just trying to make their team better, isn’t that’s what it’s all about? This isn’t a game of kickball out on the playground, it’s the NF-Freakin’-L and if a player can’t deal with competition at his position, he needs to head home.

But the Vikings weren’t after Tom Brady, Peyton Manning or Ben Roethlisberger.

Special feature 3 things to know about each team Tom Curran and Gregg Rosenthal break down the crucial info as NFL training camps begin NBCSports.com

They spent the past three months trying to convince a wounded, soon-to-be-40-year-old, who’s prone to mortgaging the efforts of an entire team’s entire season on a whim to assume the organization’s most important role. A guy whose greatest motivation for returning to the game (on his own terms) was to stick it to his former boss.

They thought that guy was better than the guys they have. And that’s damning evidence.

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