Robinson is not ‘Goofy’ at Disneyland

ANAHEIM — Ramzee Robinson played it cool, like he’s been to Disneyland before.

Was Mickey Mouse going to greet a Super Bowl MVP?

Yeah, right. How about the last player chosen in the 2007 NFL Draft?

That was more like it, so Mickey canceled at the last minute.

But before Mr. Irrelevant XXXII entered “the Happiest Place on Earth” Tuesday morning, he checked himself out.

Checked if his white cap had a tilt to the left. Not too far, just slightly. The shades, dark enough so no Disney character could look into his eyes and change his intimidating game face. The jean shorts looked hip with strong single creases.

The t-shirt matched his kicks. Yellow top and black and yellow Nikes, which caught the attention of, yes, you know who — Goofy.

Goofy dug the shoes and Robinson forgot about looking fly when Goofy congratulated him for being Mr. Irrelevant. Who better to do that than Goofy?

It worked as the inner kid in the 23-year-old Robinson came out, allowing him to forget about making the Detroit Lions for a moment and cherish an opportunity that he said he never had growing up in Huntsville, Ala., where he was surrounded by trouble in the projects.

“I’m just thankful I wasn’t one of those guys that ended up locked up, shot, or dead,” said Robinson, whose nickname Bino stands for “Best Is Number One.” “I’m just happy and thankful to be at where I’m at today. I’m just taking advantage of each day because you never know when it’s your last.”

That positive attitude is why practically everyone around Robinson at Disneyland loved his charming smile. They wanted a piece of the defensive back with cameramen, reporters, a screenwriter, and attractive college interns following him around while a couple of Disneyland employees escorted Robinson around VIP style.

The 255th pick said he finally felt like the No. 1 pick.

Kids left their places in hour-long lines, dragging their parents, just to meet Robinson, high-five him, and get his autograph.

“Hi, who are you?” asked Caycee Morgan, an 11-year-old from Orange, curious to see if Robinson was really famous.

Someone in the throng of theme-park goers thought Robinson was Terrell Owens, the controversial wide receiver with the Dallas Cowboys.

“No way!” said an old man. “He’s not T.O., because T.O. would be complaining right now, even at Disneyland.”

No complaints from Robinson during his eight-hour experience on a hot day at Disneyland and California Adventure and his scheduled appearance later than night to rake the infield as part of the grounds crew at the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim baseball game.

Getting him up before 8 proved a little troublesome for Melanie Salata-Fitch, head of Irrelevant Week, after Monday night’s opening ceremony at the Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort & Marina.

“Get up!” said a feisty Salata-Fitch outside of Robinson’s swanky hotel room in Newport Beach. “We got to go to Disneyland.”

Nothing could keep Robinson in the hotel for long. Well, first he wanted to eat.

“Just trying to eat that free breakfast,” said Robinson, still infatuated with receiving a free meal every morning as part of his stay, which started Sunday and ends Saturday.

Robinson said he couldn’t wait for his uncle Majid Childress to join him at breakfast today. Childress, a 32-year-old landscaper from Huntsville, flew in Tuesday, marking the first time he’s flown and been in California.

Robinson is the underdog and tonight starting at 6 there will be the All-Star Lowsman Sports Banquet at the Newport Beach Marriott Resort, where celebrities will toast and roast Mr. Irrelevant and award him the Lowsman Trophy, which is nothing like the coveted Heisman Trophy.

Irrelevant Week’s founder, community philanthropist Paul Salata, said the motto for Irrelevant Week is “doing something nice for someone for no reason.”

In Robinson’s case, this week feels like he’s a superstar and the taste of success is what drives him. It has since he was an 8-year-old, when he watched his parents, Fedetrice and Edward, support a family of eight in Huntsville.

“They got their regular jobs, just working their butt off every day,” Robinson said of his mother, a manager at a fast-food restaurant, and father, a chef at both hotel and gas station restaurants. “This is overwhelming just to be here, and of course it’s a little sad that they’re not here with me, but it’s understandable because [they have] to work. That’s where I get my work ethic from, my mother and father.

“[My father] makes the best food any gas station has. Everything, anything you want, he can hook it up.”

Edward continues to offer that tasty food, but more importantly to Robinson is receiving dad’s wise advice.

Robinson knows he can go to his dad whenever. He’s had to quite often. One life lesson Robinson said he’ll never forget is when his son, Xavier, now 5, was born. The summer after his birth, Robinson planned to attend the University of Alabama and start his football career, one many kids dream while growing up in Alabama.

Faced with a tough decision whether to go to Tuscaloosa, or stay in Huntsville, Robinson sought his dad. Edward advised him to do what’s best for his family.

“I knew the best decision for me was to go to college and establish myself and build a foundation for him, for his future,” said Robinson, adding that Xavier’s mother, Tiaria White, has done an excellent job raising Xavier. “Everything I’m doing, going to college, graduating with a degree [in management], being drafted, and playing in the NFL, I’m the first in my family to do all of that.

“My thing is to represent my name well, and just show all my brothers and sisters that they can do the same thing, if not better.

Now those are good reasons to act cool.

DAVID CARRILLO PEÑALOZA may be reached at (714) 966-4612 or at david.carrillo@latimes.com.