One of the best things about Christmas. And life in general.
The drama
The reason we watch sport is for the drama, the unexpected, the unscripted and no sport packs more uncertainty into its game time than darts.
Every leg literally comes down to a finish, a must-hit dart to win. And there is a new leg every two to three minutes. Add in the added pressure of a deciding leg, or a leg against the darts, and the tension is ratcheted up even more.
And while sports like football, rugby or GAA may, only may, have a nerve-shredding final few minutes, a darts match at the world championships could have 10 or more of these moments in an hour.
Thank God the world championships happen over the holidays, we wouldn’t be able to hack the pressure while at work.
The crowds
You’d think you’d get tired of seeing six lads from Bolton dressed as the Honey Monster but you’d be wrong. Every day at the darts is an invite to the world’s biggest fancy dress party and where else will you find a Smurf heartily shouting vitriol at a large man from Holland.
The music
This, and only this. Be warned, this video is 15 minutes long and we have no idea what your mental state will be at the end of such a prolonged exposure to this tune.
The characters
You have the good guys, like Raymond ‘Barney’ van Barneveld, loved by everyone. You have the dominant figure of the last two decades, Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor, who now gets almost as many boos as cheers, purely because he has been so good for so long. You have the new kid on the block, and the reigning champ, Michael ‘Mighty Mike’ van Gerwen (main image) who it is impossible to dislike and then you have Peter ‘Snakebite’ Wright, who looks like this.
The coverage
While we all still mourn the loss of Sid Waddell, the lads at Sky still do a fine job of covering the sport. And the amount of coverage is staggering. From four hours a night every night before Christmas, it really ramps up after the big day, when the afternoon session (at least four hours) and the evening session (another four) are broadcast LIVE!
This year, Sky Sports 3 has been rebranded as Sky Sports Darts for the duration of the championships. It means you can bathe in darting excellence for virtually the entire day while shovelling Quality Street into your face. Life really doesn’t get any better.
Nine darters
Sporting perfection. Here’s is Terry Jenkins’ nine darter from last year’s championships. Beautiful.
DECEMBER 16: Nine days until Xmas so here is Terry Jenkins nine-darter at Ally Pally last year! #WorldDarts https://t.co/epdiojNZiR
— PDC (@OfficialPDC) December 16, 2014
The signs
Be it a dig at a celeb or a topical reference (we bet there will be an anti-water charges sign or two appearing this year) the handing out of little signs and pens to the crowd is pure genius. Other sports take note.
The big name fans
Apart from Mr Savage, you really get all sorts at the darts from Stephen Fry to Ronnie O’Sullivan to Matt le Tissier
.
And just look how rapt in awe they are at the darting genius they are witnessing. Those two fellas know a thing or too about sporting excellence and they are transfixed.
In fact, crowd spotting is almost as much fun as guessing how a player is going to check out 138. Feel free to bore your family and friends over the holidays with the trivia that there are 35 different ways to finish on 138, and here is Keith Deller checking out on that very number to win the 1983 crown, one of the most famous finals of all time. Skip to 1.46 to see it.
