UK Darts Issue 16 - July 2014 | Page 19

Darts has now firmly established itself as the biggest indoor sport in the UK. The Premier League draws in larger crowds than even some Championship football clubs can manage. There are professional tours of Europe and dedicated tours in North America, Scandinavia and Australia. There’s a £7m prize fund in professional darts this year alone. But after several small steps, is the sport ready to take the giant leap? Can it get a seat at the sporting banquet table that is the Olympic Games? Or is it doomed to the same fate as squash, sumo and baseball? Let’s set the scene. A boisterous 10,000 strong crowd in the big city’s major arena are eagerly waiting for their heroes to take to the stage. Beer is being brought by the barrel. Messages on signs that are encouraging, humorous and even romantic, are being written whilst the dancers are keeping everyone else entertained. Backstage in the green room, the evening’s entertainment make their last minute preparations. Some relax. Others practice. The rest fine-tune the instruments which have helped them earn nearly a million pounds in as little as two years. There’s a knock on the door, and two men make their way into the cauldron of noise. The Master of Ceremonies takes his place and each player is introduced with a list of their achievements preceding them, followed by the crowd singing along to their walk-on music as they make their way to the stage. They shake hands with fans young and old, kiss loved ones, whilst being accompanied by a walk-on girl and bouncer. TV, sign big contracts and then tour the world. The sport as a whole even went to rehab for alcoholism brought on after that infamous Not the Nine o’clock News sketch, but now, professionally at least, darts is teetotal. There’s even been the odd run-in with the authorities – Jocky Wilson, Phil Taylor, Eric Bristow, Robbie Green, James Wade and Jelle Klaasen have all been in varying degrees of trouble with the sports’ governing bodies or the crown itself. But despite some hailing 16-times world champion Phil Taylor as the greatest sportsman this country has ever produced, there is one thing missing from his vast trophy cabinet that: Sir Steve Redgrave, Sir Bradley Wiggins, Sir Chris Hoy, Sir Matthew Pinsent and Sir Ben Ainslie all have, knighthood aside. An Olympic gold medal. Had darts been in the Olympics since he won his first world title (1990), Taylor might well have had four or five of the six gold medals in an individual competition alone. It seems amiss that one of the most popular and fastest growing sports in the world isn’t in the Olympic programme. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has included BMX to appeal to younger generations, yet there are many children, teenagers and young adults at major darts tournaments with their families. Granted it’s not the most physically demanding sport in the world, but then again squash, which Forbes magazine says is the healthiest sport to play, isn’t in the Olympics either. Some darts fans will argue that its fellow target But these men are not part of a rock band, nor are they boxers or WWE wrestlers. They are men who have practically perfected one of the hardest sports in the world to play well. They are darts players, and for one night only the Premier League is in town. It’s remarkable just how far darts has come; it’s the new rock and roll of sport, and players and musicians do have a surprising amount in common. From learning how to play at home before playing in pubs and clubs, they go on tour around the county, then country, then major tournaments/festivals on Photo: PDC/Lawrence Lustig