Peñaloza: Mr. Irrelevant roasted, toasted

Irrelevant Week returned to the site where Paul Salata first threw a party for the last player picked in the NFL Draft 39 years ago. The Balboa Bay Resort hosted the 40th Mr. Irrelevant, Gerald Christian, on Friday.

In a town like Newport Beach, where Salata expects to see a lot of cardinal, as in the cardinal and gold of his alma mater, USC, gear of a different cardinal was usually on display wherever Christian appeared.

Christian played for the Cardinals in college at the University of Louisville. He still hasn’t made the Arizona Cardinals of the NFL just yet, but during the All-Star Lowsman Banquet, former NFL players and an agent offered Christian advice during the annual roast of Mr. Irrelevant.

One area Christian doesn’t need much help with is saving money. Without a sports agent, Christian said he worked out his own contract. When Leigh Steinberg, who used to represent some of the best players in the NFL, found out about this, he told Christian he had kids in college to support, and to leave the negotiating to agents like him.

When you’re the No. 256 overall pick like Christian, you will take whatever money you can get for a chance to play in the NFL. This week, Newport Beach has treated Christian, a 6-foot-3, 244-pound tight end, like one of its own, wining and dining him, taking him surfing, sailing, to Disneyland, and clubbing.

Christian couldn’t wait to dance after the banquet, but he first took in what Salata, the founder of Irrelevant Week, and others had to say about what the event meant to the community and the amount of money the Foundation for the Undefeated raises for special causes. Salata didn’t take the podium to address Christian due to his age, he’s 88, and immobility, so the event’s organizers produced a two-minute video clip of him talking to his daughter, Melanie Fitch, who runs Mr. Irrelevant these days.

Someone joked that the only thing missing from the video were subtitles because it was hard to understand Salata’s English. Salata wrapped things up by singing Happy Birthday to Mr. Irrelevant turning 40.

John Ireland, a Corona del Mar High graduate and the radio voice of the Los Angeles Lakers, was the emcee. The next person he introduced to the crowd was a former Stanford trombonist, Gary Tyrrell, who plays the instrument these days like Salata talks.

Tyrrell has a good excuse. He’s the guy who was knocked down at the end of “The Play” in the UC Berkeley-Stanford rivalry game 33 years ago, when Tyrrell and the Stanford band was on the field during the final kickoff. He hasn’t recovered from the hit he took from Kevin Moen in the end zone after Moen, five laterals later, scored the game-winning touchdown for the Golden Bears.

When asked what was more likely to happen this upcoming season, a play similar to the one Tyrrell was involved in or Christian playing a down in the NFL, Tyrrell paused for a handful of seconds, before saying “B.”

Michael Haynes, a Hall of Fame cornerback, has a little more faith in Christian.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame cornerback told Christian that it doesn’t matter where you go in the draft. He mentioned the story of Roosevelt Brown and where the offensive lineman was taken by the New York Giants in the 1953 draft.

“There is a Hall of Famer that was Mr. Irrelevant [before Mr. Irrelevant existed],” said Haynes, referring to Brown, who was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1975. “He was actually drafted in the 27th round.”

Compared to Brown, Christian fared much better in the draft, going 20 rounds earlier than Brown. After learning about Brown, Christian began to feel good about how his career could turn out.

Haynes shared how Christian planned to earn a gold jacket like Brown when his NFL career ends. It first has to get started, and after being the brunt of many jokes, Christian got the last laugh, saying that he “had fun with all these crazy … white people” from Newport Beach.

The remark drew laughter and a round of applause, ending the fourth day of Christian’s six-day stay at the Balboa Bay Resort on a high note.