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Coverage andd photos of the events and tailgate party for the last player taken in the 2007 NFL Draft, Ramzee Robinson.

 


Irrelevant Week
The Last Player of NFL Draft Gets Treated Like a Top Pick


Mr. Irrelevant, Ramzee Robinson, poses with the PubClubettes.

Image finally realizing a childhood dream and being selected in the NFL Draft.

All those visions of playing football for a living, being part of a professional team and getting paid a professional football salary.

Then you're told that before you can get to your first training camp, you've got to go through an initiation where, for an entire week, you'll be mocked, made fun of and generally get so many pokes to the ribs you'll feel like a piece of meat at Tuscaloosa's famous Dreamland Ribs.

Well all that's just fine with Ramzee Robinson.

You see, Robinson is Mr. Irrelevant for 2007.

He's just the latest in a long line of athletes who have made their mark by hardly making a mark. Mr. Irrelevant, you see, honors not the top pick in the draft, but the very last. It was started 28 years ago by a USC Trojan fan, Paul Salata, with an obvious sense of humor. Today, it has grown into a multi-day event – Irrelevant Week, of course – with a long list of sponsors and a tie-in to a charity (in 2007 it was the 1/1 Marine Battalion of Camp Pendleton, CA).

Those events include a welcoming reception, banquet dinner that presents the Lowsman Trophy (opposite of the Heisman), a trip to Disneyland – yes, Mr. Irrelevant goes to Disneyland – an Anaheim Angeles game, a beach and boating day and a tailgate party. It's all held in beautiful Newport Beach, CA, which is perhaps one big reason why no one has ever turned down the "celebration."

For his part, Robinson enjoyed his time in the sarcastic spotlight. (After all, he's then got to go to Detroit, for he was chosen by the Lions).

"The draft wasn't over for five minutes when I got a call from Melanie Salata-Fitch (Irrelevant Week CEO)," Robinson said, beer in hand, PubClubettes by his side during the event-ending tailgate party. "At first I was upset I wasn't drafted earlier. After all, I'm a competitor.

"But Melanie told me of all the great things associated with Irrelevant Week and everything has been perfect. In fact, it's been better than what she said; it's been great.

"I've really cherished this week. The highlight was going to the Angels game. Normally they have the featured person of the game throw out the first pitch. But I was dragging the infield. The head groundskeeper was yelling at me and it was on the jumbotron. It was so funny."

Robinson, from Huntsville, Ala., who was a standout defensive back on one of the nation's top defenses at the University of Alabama, showed his humble Southern roots throughout the week. Interviewed by media outlets ranging from the NFL to ESPN to local newspapers and TV, in addition to PubClub, he was always friendly and accommodating. It was his first trip to Los Angeles and he glowed brighter than the city's famous sunshine.

He also quickly understood Irrelevant Week for what it is - a tongue-in-cheek celebration before the back-breaking, sweat-popping process of trying to make an NFL team.

"You don't want to take this too serious," he said. "Because it's not serious. It's all about the fun.

"Except for the Lowsman banquet – that's what this is all about. It's not me, but the image of Mr. Irrelevant.

"Because it IS irrelevant where you are taken in the draft. It's all about performing when you get there.

"And I'm with a team that wants me, so I'm happy.

"This week has been good because it really makes me more determined when I get to camp to prove everyone they were wrong in not taking me sooner."

And what did Mr. Irrelevant think of the PubClubettes, whom PubClub brought to spice up the tailgate party?

"My momma taught me not to stare," he said with a smile.


The PubClubettes prepare for their meeting with Mr. Irrelevant.

 

Next stop on the Party Bus: Dining in L.A.