Irrelevant Week is just for fun

At Irrelevant Week, every underdog has his day. Five of them, in fact.

By design, it is a celebration like no other: golf, press conferences, Disneyland, Playboy Mansion, banquets, barbecues, gifts, nightclubs, Dodgers game, TV appearances, a roast, a regatta and an Irrelevant Rams Cheerleader Contest. All for the last pick of the NFL draft, who has come to be known as “Mr. Irrelevant.”

Ex-Idaho Vandals linebacker David Vobora will be the guest of honor at Irrelevant Week, a five-day party that begins Monday in Orange County, Calif. He was the last named called in the April draft, by the St. Louis Rams with the 252nd overall pick. In what has become the traditional closing to the two-day draft, Irrelevant Week founder Paul Salata did the honors, announcing Vobora’s selection over ESPN’s airwaves.

Salata hatched the idea for Irrelevant Week in the mid-1970s and got the go-ahead from his friend and then-NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle. The fun-loving, 82-year-old Salata, a former USC receiver who had a short NFL career, had humble intentions: Make a player who would otherwise probably be an afterthought feel like a king for a week.

“My dad was trying to say that it’s irrelevant that he’s the last pick, he should be honored,” said Salata’s daughter, Melanie Salata Fitch, who handles much of the organizing duties. “He just really thinks it’s a genuinely good thing to do for someone who wouldn’t get this done for them.”

Thirty three years later, Irrelevant Week is still going strong. Salata’s intentions can hardly be questioned. He broached the idea before the draft was televised, so he’s not a publicity hound. They’ve broadened the concept for special circumstances. One year a celebration was held for the last soldier to return from Desert Storm. Another event was staged for the “Anchorman,” the last person in the graduating class at Annapolis.

“Boy, could he drink beer. He could drink a mug while he was upside down,” Salata Fitch said. “He was at the bottom of his class, so we brought him out because he graduated and he made it. I don’t want to be on his boat, but he was fun.”

After several phone conversations with Vobora, Salata Fitch said this week’s events will be tailored to Vobora’s preferences. He’s allowed to invite a friend – ex-Oregon State lineman Roy Schuening – whose expenses are covered. Vobora’s family is taken care of, too, but they’re responsible for their air fare and a reduced hotel rate. There’s a reason for that.

“We told Tevita Ofahengaue (2001 Mr. Irrelevant) to bring his family because we thought he’d be more comfortable,” Salata Fitch said. “He brought 65 people from Tonga. We were scrambling around trying to find rooms for everybody, so now we have the ‘Ofahengaue Rule.’ “

Salata Fitch estimated that it takes about 100 volunteers to put the week together. Sponsors and underwriters help cover expenses and there’s also a charge for guests attending the Lowsman Trophy banquet. Mr. Irrelevant receives the Lowsman (opposite of Heisman), a trophy with a player fumbling the football.

Irrelevant Week profits are donated to charity. Some $900,000 has been raised for charity through the years.

Several Mr. Irrelevants have carved out lengthy NFL careers, including Mike Green, a safety with the Seattle Seahawks. Salata said nearly every Mr. Irrelevant has embraced the weeklong celebration, but there have been a few exceptions.

Salata had to warn one player’s wife, who went on a spending spree at the hotel. Another brought his fiancee, who competed with the player for top billing and put a damper on the festivities.

Mr. Irrelevant, thanks to a back injury, was in traction one year, so the next-to-last pick was invited. Just for fun, Tampa Bay coach John McKay was asked who he would have taken with his next pick had the draft gone another round. That player was invited, too. All three showed up – Mr. Irrelevant’s back healed up – “so we had three and it was really fun,” Salata Fitch said.

When Cal running back John Tuggle was selected as Mr. Irrelevant in 1983, Salata invited the trombone player from Stanford’s band (yes, the one that got trampled by a Cal player on the famous lateral-filled kick return for a touchdown). The only conditions: Bring your trombone and play the Stanford fight song. The trombone player remains a frequent guest at Irrelevant Week.

Salata said he’s heard nothing but good things about Vobora as a person and player. Nick Holt, an assistant at USC who was Vobora’s coach at Idaho, will be part of the roast.

“It’s a really fun week and I enjoy it,” Salata said. “At my age, there’s no use sitting around and crying about old age. I do go out to many of the things, but I’m done at 8 p.m. They can do what they want after that.”