Thread: What's this sudden obsession with darts?

Agreed.

The attraction is simple, is a gme, called sport, which you can play being fat and with a pint in your hand.

I certainly feel closer to them than to Mr. Bolt.

Darts is ace. This year was the first in about 5 years when I haven't been to the PDC World Championships. However, BDO darts which finished on Sunday is nowhere near as good as PDC darts. The atmosphere at a good darts match can best any F1 race or football match.

Darts is becoming more popular especially in the last few years when they started the Premier League. Although, that is not good to watch as it's full of people trying to get as drunk as possible in 2 hours. Darts should go back to basics and go back to the Circus Tavern. It was a dump but it was better.

I don't get it either dB. Not a very TV/Spectator friendly sport is it?

Originally Posted by Storm

I don't get it either dB. Not a very TV/Spectator friendly sport is it?

Not TV/ or spectator friendly.??
Rallying would kill for the amount of TV coverage Darts gets. Maybe that says more about the UK than anything else.

It was just on a lot recently because the Professional Dart Championship (PDC - Sky Sports World Darts Championship) and British Dart Organisation (BDO - BBC Sports World Darts Championship) both happen at the end/start of the year.

I don't mind darts. I find it as easy and as exciting to watch as Snooker or Pool and way better than Golf, Bowls or Curling.

Andy, I would rather play some darts than see some fat bloke playing it.
As for rallying coverage not being on tv, tell me about it

Each to their own - I like darts, been watching for years although my own standards of playing have never really got any better!

I do wish they'd get the two championships back together though, it seems silly to have them both. Although aside from The Power (and Adrian Lewis on his day), I don't think the difference in quality is as much between them as some folk'd have you believe - note how well Simon Whitlock and Mark Webster have done going over, as well as the other recent BDO guys.

Storm, I couldn't agree more. I'd rather play darts, golf, snooker, pool etc thaan watch it

Originally Posted by Dave Brockman

Tedious pub game played by fat ugly badly-dressed sweatballs, pointless to watch live unless you've got the eyesight of a hawk, dull to watch on TV unless you have 30x fast-forward, but suddenly it's all over the box and almost impossible to avoid.

What's the attraction? I simply don't get it. I would literally prefer to watch paint dry.

What's the attraction of watching cars go round and round in circles?

Oh yes, we can all pick up a few darts and start chucking, but how many of us can actually achieve the insane average rate a professional player can? I know I can't and that's what fascinates me when I watch on the odd occasion.

One I can't stand is poker. That gets a ridiculous amount of airtime for what it is, a group of people recieving random cards and then deciding whether to be macho or not in the sake of winning a few chips...

Wedge, do darts players risk life and limb each time they play? The point is if you or I step in an F1 car our life expectancy is minutes at best if we really go for it.

Boring and the commentary is dull too. It's probably better to go to the match, drink and get drunk and pretend to have an idea what's going on.

Isn't it only the UK and Holland that play darts "professionally" anyway?

I guess it's because Darts doesn't require any mental capacity to watch. The dart hits triple20 or it doesn't. There is nothing more to it.

Of course it can always be worse. The other day I zapped to Eurosport and they were broadcasting bowling... Bowling is darts minus the beer plus silly shoes.

Originally Posted by Monaro Doorslammer

Oh yes, we can all pick up a few darts and start chucking, but how many of us can actually achieve the insane average rate a professional player can? I know I can't and that's what fascinates me when I watch on the odd occasion.

Everybody with half decent eye/brain coordination and a stable arm can do it. Darts does not require any skill, it's purely practise.

One I can't stand is poker. That gets a ridiculous amount of airtime for what it is, a group of people recieving random cards and then deciding whether to be macho or not in the sake of winning a few chips...

Agree with you there.

Originally Posted by Lousada

Everybody with half decent eye/brain coordination and a stable arm can do it. Darts does not require any skill, it's purely practise.

Much as I hate to defend darts, I do take issue with the "anybody can do it" line. There's good money to be won, so if anbody can do it why don't you?

Same as those who say "Michael Schumacher? Pah, anybody can drive a car."

Go on then.

Darts has always had a large following, made up of hard-drinking working class types, but now the middle-class ironists have hi-jacked it, so we have to suffer braying idiots pretending to like it. It happens to everything at some point.

Originally Posted by Dave Brockman

Much as I hate to defend darts, I do take issue with the "anybody can do it" line. There's good money to be won, so if anbody can do it why don't you?


Go on then.

Because I don't care about the 'good' money and I don't have the time or motivation to practise so much.
But if I understand correctly you think there are specific skills required for darts? Could you please tell me what makes a dartsplayer so special compared to normal people?

Same as those who say "Michael Schumacher? Pah, anybody can drive a car."

Which is not exactly the same. To be a F1 driver you firstly need to be in perfect physical shape. Next to that you need to be smart enough to understand the technical aspects of the car and how they relate to roadhandling and speed. And lastly racingdrivers require anticipation so they can see what will happen next or can react to unforeseen events.

Originally Posted by Lousada

But if I understand correctly you think there are specific skills required for darts? Could you please tell me what makes a dartsplayer so special compared to normal people?

A good darts player needs accuracy, composure and the ability to make calculations under pressure. Not everybody has that.