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Hard work comes easy to Darby

By ROGER MILLS

© St. Petersburg Times,
published September 2, 2001

He grew up in North, South Carolina. He is the son of a logger and a self-proclaimed country boy. And he puts the "q" in quiet. Here is Bucs defensive tackle Chartric Darby with a few takes on life.

RM: What's the story behind the name, is it Chartric or Chuck?

CD: I got no idea where my moms got it from, but it is a different name. I've never met someone with that name, so I guess that counts for something. My father's name is Charles and he started to call me Chuck. So I told coach to make it easy by calling me Chuck and everyone here now calls me Chuck. So both are fine.

RM: But when you're being introduced on the PA system, should they call you Chuck or Chartric Darby?

CD: Chartric Darby!

RM: Who are you?

CD: I'm country.

RM: Define "country."

CD: I think fields. Cotton fields, tobacco fields, cow pastures. Ponds, lots of ponds. That's what I grew up around. I worked in watermelon fields with my dad. He was a logger and I did logging with him also.

RM: What's the hardest thing you ever did?

CD: Logging was the hardest, most definitely. I went with my dad surveying the trees one time and had to walk through the swamps with the snakes, and I'm afraid of snakes. It was different.

RM: If you weren't playing football, would you be logging?

CD: Nah, no more of that. But logging really paved the way. Well, I probably would work in the same business, but I don't know about going out there in the swamps and stuff.

RM: Who is tougher to knock down, a tree or an All-Pro guard.

CD: Chopping that tree down is harder, much harder. The tree's got roots.

RM: Have you ever taken home a towel from a hotel room?

CD: Most definitely. I'm not going to even hold back on that one. The majority of all my trips, I've kept a towel. It was something I always did. I did it in college and still do.

RM: I'm figuring that seeing that you're country, you're not a big concert guy.

CD: Correct. I'm not a concert person. Every now and then I'll go out with the boys, watch a couple movies or something but, no, I'm not a concert guy.

RM: Janet Jackson is supposed to be coming to the Ice Palace this fall, you in?

CD: Now, that's one concert that I don't want to miss. I'm going to make that one.

RM: When you see the yellow light, do you slow down or speed up?

CD: I'll be honest with you, I slow down ... occasionally. RM: So, country boy, are you afraid of snakes?

CD: Man, I can't handle snakes. That was the big thing out there logging. I've come close to being bit, real close. Once I was out there in the swamps and was right there by this tree and he was next to (my face, inches away) in the tree.

RM: You didn't see him.

CD: Nope, but he saw me. Most definitely. It was a rattlesnake too. I would have been through.

RM: Everybody has an embarrassing family member; who is yours?

CD: My Aunt Joyce. Man, she's something else. She's always changing her clothes over and over. She's very loud. She's very disrespectful. She'll say any and everything. Yet, a lot of things she will do are limited. She goes out and tries to talk to everybody I know. I don't know why. She does it all the time and I have no clue why. RM: Did you get your tax rebate?

CD: Yeah, and I gave it to my wife. I think she spent it on the kids. I hope she did. She probably spent it on herself, though.

RM: If you won Lotto this weekend, would you come to work Monday?

CD: You know what, the game of football means a lot to me. A lot of people had doubts about me, so if it's one thing I want to prove it's that I can play on this level. So, I would show up to work the next day.

RM: Would you stay in the league for 10 years?

CD: No. No. No. Hell no.

RM: You ever go to Hooters?

CD: Yes.

RM: Would you take your wife and children to Hooters?

CD: Nah. I do see families there. But it's a different atmosphere. It reminds me of a different setting.

RM: Where would you like to go?

CD: Cancun and Jamaica.

RM: Fruit Loops or Corn Flakes?

CD: Fruit Loops, I'm all about the flavors.

RM: Pancakes or bacon and eggs?

CD: Bacon and eggs. I'm a country man.

RM: Ever notice that the God of the Old Testament was a God of wrath?

CD: Man, when he got angry, he tore (stuff) up. He destroyed things. He just wiped out cities. Just wiped them out.

RM: Why did he change?

CD: Because his son died on the cross.

RM: Is he a different God?

CD: He is totally different in the New Testament. He's a more forgiving God, he's got a lot more mercy for folks. He was a bad dude. But now, he's giving us an opportunity to change our lives and live the right way.

RM: If he gets sick of us, is he going to do it again?

CD: I hope not. But, if he does, I should be ready to go with him.

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