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.