Monday, March 12 2007 @ 03:24 AM CST
As Posted on RaiderFans Network |
An Evening to Remember
March 9, 2007 marked the 5th annual Commitment to
Excellence Award Dinner, put on by SCBCOR, which
for those that don't know , is the anagram for
Steering Committee for the Booster Clubs of the
Oakland Raiders.
I had the privilege of attending the dinner this
year, honoring one of the Raiders premier players,
Nnamdi Asomugha.
The evening opened up with a reception that started a
6:00 pm at one of the ball rooms at the Oakland
Hilton.
There was a no-host bar, but more importantly , a
silent auction.
Silent auctions are a lot of fun, in my opinion.
The items one could bid on were wide and diverse.
There was some type of boxing package at some hotel
maybe a a hotel /casino somewhere. Not my cup of a
tea, so I don't recall much about it.
There were several different wine packages from Napa
Valley. Some were wine only, some were tours.
There was a variety of gift certificates, including a
spa package.
There was a very nice letterman's jacket with white
sleeves that had all of our Super Bowl victories on
it.
Also up for silent auction a gorgeous black suede
women's jacket with patches from all our Super Bowl
victories as adornment.
There were many autographed items up for auction ,
including photos, helmets and shoes .
One item was truly unique and very touching. This
would be the collage that commemorated George "Run
Run" Jones.
The fun thing about a silent auction is watching the
people that have bid on things. This included me. I
was constantly looking to see where I was on my bids.
I had one man bidding against me for a signed "game
worn" Shane Lechler shoe. It wasn't his kicking foot,
but I didn't rightly care. What was truly ironic
about the bidding war this man and I were having on
paper culminated in a face to face meeting. As I took
my seat at my table, Drew introduced himself. I
asked if he was Drew Stone*? (* Name changed to
protect identity. He may not want his name appearing
on the web.) When he replied he was, with a rather
shocked look on his face, I told him he wouldn't be
getting my shoe. He pulled out a photo of his baby
and tried the sympathy angle saying it was for the
baby. Unfortunately for him, that didn't work on
me. When I want something bad enough , I will get it.
The autographed Shane Lechler shoe was mine. Okay,
so truth be told, he wouldn't go over a self-imposed
limit. He did get the autographed mini helmet. Oh
and I think he bought the pair of Courtney Anderson
shoes.
The dinner portion of the evening was to start at 7
o'clock. The tables were beautifully set, salads
were there , but so was the absolutely luscious
looking dessert, a three layer chocolate cake with a
truffle atop each piece.
When we were ready to start eating, former Raider
and current Minister Robert Jenkins said a blessing
over our food. JT the Brick, Master of Ceremonies
then introduced Amy Trask. She talked some and
paraphrased Teddy Roosevelt by saying she "Walked
softly and bring a safety." She told an anecdote of
how at one meeting she walked in, heads turned, the
sea of people parted, and she thought that she was
really being respected. Then she turned around and
Stuart Schweigert was there behind her. Whatever the
reason for the respect, she said she would always
appreciate the presence of Stuart. At this time she
introduced him.
Schweigert was looking rather dapper in a black suit
with a red shirt and a tie with diagonal variegated
stripes of black, white and red. He spoke very
highly of Nnamdi Asomugha, and stated that there was
no reason Nnamdi shouldn't have been in the Pro Bowl
this past season. He introduced a couple of coaches
and some current and former players, including one
of Nnamdi's very close friends, Akbar Gbaja-Biamila.
Akbar let those in attendance in on few things. First
of all.. please pronounce the 'j" as a "j", in
Gbaja. It doesn't sound like an h. He , also spoke
very highly of Nnamdi. He talked about how Nnamdi
let him stay at his house, when Akbar first came to
California. He wondered at this kindness. Akbar said
he could have had 300 people in and out of the house
in the time Nnamdi was out, but he still was willing
to help an acquaintance. (They met at an East-West
Shrine game) .
Other players in attendance:that didn't speak: Kirk
Morrison, Isaiah "Ike" Ekijuba, Derrick Burgess and
Adimchinobe Echemandu.
Don Martindale and Willie Brown were the coaches that
were able to attend the dinner.
Coach Willie Brown also spoke of Nnamdi Asomugha,
saying it was a pleasure to coach him. He also
mentioned that Nnamdi WAS Pro Bowler, he just
couldn't manage to get a flight to actually be there
in time to play. I liked that when he talked about
Nnamdi he kept saying he was good , and stopped before
saying great. There was only one great Raiders
defensive back. This of course a joke and referring
to himself. It's obvious Coach Brown is very proud of
Nnamdi's accomplishments.
Nnamdi spoke , also. What did we learn about him? He
likes to fly. He was in Africa earlier this off
season. It took him 20 hours to get there and 24
hours to get back. He actually loves to fly and thinks
airline food is really good. He was also very humble
about this honor bestowed upon him.
He also acknowledged that it took awhile for him to
develop into the player he now is , and thanked the
Raiders and their fans for sticking by him and giving
him the time he needed to show the skill he has.
Dave Laughlin, when he presented the award to Nnamdi
Asomugha joked about how he received the plaque at
one of the games, then took it away. He presented him
with the actual award. Dave also thanks every one
for showing up.
To date, this was the largest turn out for the CTE
dinner, and I was glad to be part of it.
After the award ceremony, there was a live auction.
One of the items auctioned off was a jersey signed by
Nnamdi, then two luxury box seats were thrown in,
along with lunch with Nnamdi himself. I would have
loved to have been in on that, but it went for about
$6000.00.
There was also an autographed print of Nnamdi and one
of his many interceptions.
A Porter jersey went for $600.00.
There was a Ted Hendricks that was sold for.. Well, I
guess I won't say what it went for. I will say it
somehow found it's way to my house though! After
that, my auction number was "lost". That's code for
it was taken from my hand folded up and passed on to
someone else.
So many things went up for auction.
So, let me jump back to the food. It was fish with
filet mignon. The fish was so light , moist and
flakey that keeping it on a fork was difficult. The
filet mignon was rare , my personal taste, and oh so
yummy, it melted in the mouth! They provided red and
white wine and a pitcher of water for each table, and
other non alcoholic beverages were available.
One of the other highlights of the evening was a short
highlight reel with commentary of some of the things
Nnamdi accomplished over the season. It showed some
of his interceptions interplayed with clips from an
interview with Nnamdi.
After the live auction, I had time to walk around and
talk to various people.
One of the guests was Chris Carr's mother. I spoke
to her briefly. She is very sweet and open. She also
very proud of her son. He wasn't able to attend the
dinner which was kind of sad because this dinner was
held the night of her birthday. She has a lovely
smile, and now I know where Chris got his green eyes
from! Chris , I learned was very quiet as a youngster,
and I can believe that from his demeanor now. It was
when he started playing sports he really came into
his own. He always remained humble, whatever his
accomplishments were, always wanting and /or needing
to prove himself. From a walk on to a return man,
much of the yards earned on his own. Mrs. Carr
couldn't say enough about her son, and think she was
kind of surprised that people were wanting to her.
Again, a very proud mother, with every reason to be
proud.
I spoke to Iasaih Ekijuba for a few minutes too. He
was really not wanting to talk much, so I didn't
push him
One person that had no issue talking about things was
Stuart Schweigert. I talked to him about his
defensive assignments. He said his job was that of
"island". He was the island. He was out in the
middle of no where, with no support in most cases,
trying to follow the play. He said he could make 11
tackles, and all people would remember was the one he
missed. He knows that if doesn't make the play, often
the result is a touchdown. However, being on the
field, he can't always tell when a busted play goes
the opposite direction from the way the play was
obviously designed. He knows that the fans often
criticize his play. He also knows there are people
that understand the game, and that the "island"
position is very difficult to play. He does his best
and gives his all. I know one thing that people
can't question and that is Schweigert plays with
heart. I also teased him about his red shirt. He
wore it because his girlfriend was wearing red. Kind
of sweet that he wanted to match her. I wasn't the
only person he spoke to, and he really tried to make
time for all the fans that wanted to talk to him.
The evening closed with a lot of dancing and
socializing with other fans.
There were so many people I knew there. I hesitate to
mention names, because, inevitably , I will miss
someone !
The evening went well, and flowed very smoothly.
Altogether a well planned event I am hoping to
attend again next year!
Maybe I'll see some of you there!
As ever,
Win lose or tie, RAIDERS til I DIE!
BlitzChick
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