Irrelevant honoree to be roasted

Alicia Robinson

While the smell of athletes’ sweat will be mercifully absent, the

jocular, back-slapping atmosphere of the locker room will prevail at

a fete tonight highlighting Mr. Irrelevant, the NFL’s last draft

pick.

At tonight’s “Lowsman trophy” banquet, the centerpiece event of

Irrelevant Week, honoree Andre Sommersell will be roasted in the

presence of his family, past NFL greats and football enthusiasts of

Newport-Mesa.

Sommersell is a defensive end and linebacker who attended Estancia

High School as a freshman and sophomore. He will play for the Oakland

Raiders.

“[The banquet] started because a top football player coming out of

college gets the Heisman trophy, so we started the Lowsman trophy,”

said Melanie Fitch, the chief executive of Irrelevant Week and

daughter of its founder, former NFL player Paul Salata. “Our motive

is to show the guy a great week, treat him like a celebrity.”

And along with the celebrity come the gibes, though in this case

they’re all in good fun.

Sports celebrities will give Sommersell tips on how to make it as

a pro football player and poke some gentle fun at him, Salata said.

Former Raider Bob Golic and Jim Tunney, an NFL referee for 31 years,

will be among this year’s banquet guests.

“It gets outrageous but not off the straight and narrow,” Salata

said. “Locker room talk is out, but the locker room references are

still there.”

In past years the banquet has ventured into risque territory, but

it’s more family-friendly now. Sommersell is even bringing his

parents and grandmother.

“It’s more G-rated now; I think that’s because a lot of the guys

have started taking their wives,” said Beverly Hills Police Chief

Dave Snowden, who was Costa Mesa’s police chief for 16 years and is a

frequent banquet attendee. “What started out as a stag roast ended up

being a family banquet.”

As his part of the joking, Snowden traditionally offers Mr.

Irrelevant a certificate redeemable for a white tablecloth

candlelight dinner -- in a jail cell. Most of the recipients don’t

redeem the certificates, however.

Whether the jokes are clean or something short of snow-white, the

banquet is always heavily attended, and proceeds from the $100

tickets go to local charities.

“I think it’s one of the highlight events of the year for me on

the coast,” Snowden said.

Fitch said about 400 people are expected to attend this year’s

banquet, which will begin at 7 p.m. at the Newport Beach Marriott

Hotel and Tennis Club.

“The test is do they come back the following year, and yes, they

do,” Salata said. “It gets bigger every year.”

Since this will be Sommersell’s big event as Mr. Irrelevant, he’s

looking forward to whatever the evening holds.

“I heard it’s a lot of fun,” he said. “This is kind of exciting

for me, you know, to be put out there.”

* ALICIA ROBINSON covers business, politics and the environment.

She may be reached at (949) 764-4330 or by e-mail at

alicia.robinson@latimes.com.