The root beer floats were just a bonus.

The fourth-annual celebrity Mug Root Beer Float Day in the East Side Club benefited the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, with celebrities such as A's players, local TV news people and even former "Survivor" contestants scooping and pouring the yummy treats.

If you were at the Mulder table, you were in good company. If you were at the Mike Love table, you were alone.

"Well, I look at it like we're kind of getting the overflow crowd over here," said Love, who was lonely because he is not a professional baseball player but instead works for Pepsi, the event sponsor. Sponsors are important but clearly do not provide the draw of someone who throws a small round ball and spits sunflower seeds.

Undaunted, Love and son Joe were making floats for the handful of people and looking over at the Mulder mass. "We're not popular, but we're having a good time," Love said.

Indeed, the "off" tables were truly the places to get the actual floats, as savvy float strategists soon surmised.

"We got ours from Terry Francona," said float-sipping fan Jill Robert of Merced, who was there with friend Elicia Whittemore. Seeing a blank look, she added, "He's a bench coach for the A's."

"They should sell tickets for the specific person you want to have scoop for you," she said.

"Mark (that's Mark Mulder to the rest of us) scoops, like, once every 13 people. The rest of the time he's signing autographs. So the line is huge. I felt so bad for the people at the table to their left. They're just standing there, taking pictures of Mark Mulder."

For a dollar, A's fans could get a root beer float ticket and a plastic mug. Player autographs were another $20. With all that, the event raised $35,612 for diabetes research.

Some fans were actually there to see some of the other celebrities.

Vicky and Pen, two friends from San Jose, are crazed "Survivor" fans and were overjoyed to get a Shawna Mitchell ("Survivor: Amazon") signature. And Shawna seemed overjoyed to be making floats.

"I've had some training," Mitchell said mid-scoop. "I used to work at Baskin-Robbins, so I'm planning on trumping these guys and winning the root beer competition -- since I didn't win 'Survivor,'" she said, ever so slightly bowing her head in shame.

Mitchell did note she was glad to be able to savor a root beer float.

One of the coolest float-making tables was the one with former A's greats Vida Blue, Bip Roberts and Shooty Babitt, and Oakland Tribune sports columnist Dave Newhouse.

Newhouse said he felt so unpopular standing next to Bip that he feared the root beer team might have to retire him.

"I'm only on my first tub of ice cream," Newhouse said. "Bip here is on about 15. That does something to your ego."

Farther down the table, Vida and Shooty disputed technique.

"Watch this," Vida said tolerantly, as if teaching a kid how to put on a glove.

"You put the soda in first, or it will run all over the place. Tilt the glass. And then the ice cream. I'm a double scooper-dooper."

"No, no, no. The ice cream's first," Shooty said, scooping first.

The Oakland Tribune: Cityside
Leanne McLaughlin, Managing Editor
(510) 208-6447
(510) 208-6477 Fax##
lmclaughlin@angnewspapers.com Email