words by Joseph Rich
Illustration by Joe Scordo
Many of the similarities between playing darts and playing skateboards are clichés, so let’s get them out of the way first. The participant in each hobby or sport or whatever you want to call it has to work constantly on their techniques to become highly accurate and precise. However, you can also be precisely wrong in the way you practice, causing you to rethink your techniques. You may have to reconsider how you’re standing, planting your feet, where and how you’re holding the dart, or how much you move your body when you’re throwing. To become proficient involves a ton of practice and repetition. And finally- the more you do it, the easier it becomes, but this also depends on how naturally coordinated you are in the first place.
The average person probably plays darts every now and again when they go to the bar and want to kill some time. For the more obsessive/competitive nerd/athlete, using the darts borrowed from behind the bar would be the equivalent of skating on a board purchased at WalMart. Bar darts are almost always super cheap, super light, plastic barreled pieces of shit (no shade to bar owners, why would they pay top dollar for something they freely give to drunk people to throw at a wall?). The obsessive participant has their own set of purchased, customized darts. They know how many grams they prefer their darts to be. The style, length and material of the barrel, shaft, and flight (as well as the graphic on the flight) have been selectively chosen. And while the average players and the obsessive players may pass judgment on each other, they still share the game and have fun doing it in their own ways. Simply put- it’s just a fun and challenging activity to do with your buds, regardless of your age and ability.
When you go to a darts bar and there’s already a scene established there, you may feel immediately vibed out by the locals. Just like with skating, it’s mostly in your head. Generally speaking, everyone is there to just have fun and play some good games. Stop being asocial, put your initials up on the scoreboard, and, when your name is called, just try to shoot straight. You’ll very likely meet some nice folks, and if they’re any good at the game, you’ll get better as well. As you progress, you may even begin to feel that competitive spirit rise up in ya. If you’re good enough, go join a league and work on getting those sweet sponsorships- after all, there’s a gigantic international market behind this game!
