Great Sports Name Hall of Fame Nominee - Kirby Dar Dar

Remember the XFL? If you're like most people, you might say you do, but your knowledge might be limited to little more than Rod Smart and his nickname, "He Hate Me." I guess that's fine, but that's sort of like saying you remember your last root canal because you still have that free floss they gave you afterward somewhere; you experienced the pain but then kind of blocked it all out except for the nice parts.

Well here at GSNHOF we watched the XFL and loved
everysome minute (s) of it. Most every time Wally Richardson dropped back to pass or that Saladin McCullough went for that extra yard, we were watching. So Kirby Dar Dar stood out to me, as a lover of struggling football players just trying to make it with awesome names. Because, let's face it, that's a pretty excellent real name.

Take a pink creature who swallows up everything he sees and a slang term to hide what you're actually saying and what do you get? A mediocre WR/KR who played with the Dolphins in 1995, '95, and '98. He never caught a pass (I mean he was a RB at college for Syracuse, so it's kind of weird he became a receiver anyways) but Kirby did run back 8 kicks for 154 yards, including a long of 25. Sadly, that was his entire NFL career, as 1997 saw him severely injure his knee, and in the ensuing training camp he was cut thanks to Nate Jacquet's abilities.

However, then 2001 came around. The XFL was looking for anyone who knew what a football was and Kirby was looking for work, and so Kirby became a wide receiver for the New York/New Jersey Hitmen. He caught passes (22 for 405 yards and 2 touchdowns) as well as returning punts and kicks. After the XFL folded, Kirby was out of football until 2006, when he coached the Syracuse Soldiers of the AIFL to a 1-10 record (before that league ALSO folded, now that's just plain bad luck). Nowadays, Kirby runs a football clinic in Syracuse, NY called "Kirby Dar Dar's Kids Win! Football Camp." The camp is free, as long as you have at least a C average in school, so that's pretty sweet.

It's a shame Kirby has had such bad luck in life (with injuries and leagues folding and all), and so lets wish Kirby Dar Dar best of luck in his run towards the Great Sports Name Hall of Fame! Also I'd like to thank Kirby for joining the ranks of Wonderful Terrific Monds the Second and Milton Bradley Senior, as he has a son by wife Nanette named, awesomely, Kirby the third. If there's one thing better than a Great Sports Name, it's someone with a Great Sports Name who keeps it going throughout the generations.

Like all decent but never great athletes, Kirby Dar Dar has some passionate fans, like this guy, who wants you to know that Kirby holds the Fiesta Bowl record for longest kick return (100 yards) and that his first college touch was a 95 yard kickoff return for a touchdown versus Florida. So that's cool.

To see the best sports names of all time, visit the Truly Great Names page.
To see some good sports names that were voted out, visit the Good Names page.
To see the current voting ballot, visit the Ballot page.