Mr. Irrelevant 2001 arrives Monday
Mathis Winkler
NEWPORT BEACH -- Being last is one thing Tevita “T-Bone” Ofahengaue is
very good at. That’s at least as far as the organizers of Newport Beach’s
Irrelevant Week are concerned.
Ofahengaue will be welcomed Monday by several hundred people at the
Irrelevant Week arrival party, which is hosted by the Commodores Club of
the Newport Harbor Area Chamber of Commerce at the Newport Dunes Resort.
“We expect to have a nice turnout,” said Richard Luehrs, the chamber’s
president and chief executive officer. “We have a great lineup of
restaurants serving up some food and plan to have a great deal of energy
to welcome Mr. Irrelevant.”
Born in Tonga, the 6 foot 3 inch, 255-pound Ofahengaue was selected
246th, last, by the Arizona Cardinals in the 2001 National Football
League draft, making him the 26th Mr. Irrelevant. He will be the guest of
honor at the arrival party, where he will receive hundreds and hundreds
of elaborate gifts and proclamations from numerous organizations
throughout the world.
After leaving high school, Ofahengaue worked for American Airlines as
a baggage handler until his brother and close friend convinced him to go
to college and play football. After joining the Brigham Young University
football team as a walk-on, Ofahengaue became a three-year starter for
the Cougars and capped off his college career in 2000 with All-Mountain
West Conference second team honors.
The arrival party will feature the formal introduction and welcome of
Mr. Irrelevant to Newport Beach by Irrelevant founder and sports legend,
Paul Salata.
The party, which includes an “all you can eat” dinner, live
entertainment and some legendary sports stars, costs $10. Proceeds from
Irrelevant Week, which has the motto of “doing something nice for someone
for no reason,” benefit various charitable organizations.
For more information, call (949) 729-4400.
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