The Undefeated

A Star Spangled Event

A huge crowd lined the streets as The Foundation for the Undefeated kicked off the celebration for the 39^th year of Mr. Irrelevant at the Balboa Island Parade. The theme for this year’s parade was “Star Spangled Islands”. 

Paul Salata (the founder of Irrelevant Week) was in attendance and in great spirits, even though he has been on “injured reserve” recovering from hip surgery. He sported the Mr. Irrelevant jersey and rode with his daughter, Melanie Salata Fitch, and her family over the Balboa Island bridge onto Marine Avenue.

The Costa Mesa High School cheerleaders also helped spark energy at the parade as they passed out candy to what seemed like hundreds of smiling boys and girls. The cheerleaders yelled chants for Mr. Irrelevant himself, Lonnie Ballentine, who will arrive in Southern California in time to be honored at during Irrelevant Week, July 8-12.

Ballentine was the 256th pick in this year’s NFL draft and will have the opportunity to earn a spot on the roster for the Houston Texans. Everyone involved in Sunday’s parade paid tribute to the Texan spirit and team colors Deep Steel Blue, Battle Red and Liberty White that also went along with the theme of the parade.

The parade marked the beginning of this year’s celebration leading up to Irrelevant Week, featuring Lonnie Ballentine, with events and activities for the public, and benefitting Special Olympics Southern California.

Kendra Douglas is a multi-platform journalist who is a full-time student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill pursing a career in Sports Journalism.