I remember when John Part won his first world title we were driving back from Galway to Dublin on the old road to get back for it and it was pissing rain and our wipers broke down around Kilcock and we had to drive with windscreen vision worse than a detached retina. I was very scared. We just about made it. Bobby George’s wipers were off and he got wiped.
That was FA Cup Third Round day too. It used to be the biggest sporting day of the year.
The disregard the “sporting” press have had for darts over the years is a scandal. If snooker is the sport of kings, darts is the sport of emperors. It is pure sport. No hiding place. You can’t cheat. It’s you against the board and your opponent. The concentration. The mentality needed. It’s the purest sport.
This sport still has massive room to grow. It’ll break America yet and breaking Europe is a certainty. In 50 years’ time, the world darts final will be bigger than the Superbowl, and deservedly so, because unlike the Superbowl it’s a sport.
I don’t know big it is really I was genuinely asking. You’d often hear Paul rouse etc saying going behind paywalls has killed certain sports. What are sky’s viewing figures for these kind of big events I wonder?
The ratings would be big enough at this stage I’d imagine but below what they would be on BBC obviously.
I think darts is perfectly suited to the modern TV environment and that’s a major reason for its ever increasing popularity. Excitement is constant. Every leg matters. The immediacy of waiting for that split second to see whether a dart hits a double or a bullseye when a player is on a finish is a rush for TV viewers, it’s like watching a penalty in a shoot out. People want to attend it. It’s a social thing.
Whereas with stuff like golf or test cricket or rugby, these things have traditionally been on free to air tv and that’s been a major reason for their success, and once taken off, their appeal dwindles. Out of sight, out of mind. With golf and test cricket they require a lot of time devotion. With rugby, the rules have become increasingly impenetrable and it’s a team sport which isn’t that popular in most countries. With boxing, fights are held in soulless arenas in Saudi Arabia and fighters fight once every six months at most.
Darts retains the connection between competitor and viewer. You’ll probably see a top darts player down your local pub at some stage this year if you live in Banagher. You might see Gary Anderson or Michael Smith.
One major thing which darts has nailed is its time window. It is Christmas now. Hello GAA.
@fenwaypark astutely called the outcome of this championship a good few rounds ago. I sensed it myself but didn’t fully commit or believe it. We have witnessed greatness in Luke Littler at this years darts. It was a pleasure to watch that. I hope he smashes all Phil Taylor’s records.
