On the Oche: How darts went from pub game to cash-rich modern sport – Part one: Fan culture

Walking out in an arena in front of thousands of adoring fans is traditionally reserved for sports teams and your Springsteen’s – certainly not for a bloke chucking an arrow at a board.

But that narrative has changed.

The popularity of darts has led to these very venues being packed to the rafters with people donning enough fancy dress costumes to think you had accidentally stumbled into a halloween event.

The booming fan culture surrounding the sport has redefined it; darts is now the epicentre of party, pints and sheer pandemonium.

It’s something ‘Hollywood’ Chris Dobey is all but familiar with on a regular basis.

But nothing will ever come close for the current world number 31 than when he competed in the PDC Premier League, in front of a hometown crowd in Newcastle.

“It was unbelievable. Probably the best feeling I’ve ever had in darts, without a doubt,” he said on featuring as one of the tournament’s ‘Contenders’ in 2019.

Dobey walked out to Local Hero, the song played just before his beloved Newcastle United enter the pitch on a match day – a song that had the fans in attendance in the palm of his hands.

“Hearing the however many thousands there singing ‘He’s one of our own’... I’m getting goosebumps now just talking about it!”

The 31-year-old drew his game with Mensur Suljovic on the night, but when talking to him, you get the feeling that the result was utterly irrelevant to him.

“Being on that stage, playing in front of my home fans and them singing my name was brilliant.

“I don’t think I’ll ever have a feeling like that again because it was the first time.”

Over the years darts has only become more popular with the fans, with events selling out events across the UK and Europe regularly.

To cope with the demand for tickets for the World Championship – the PDC’s flagship tournament – the 3,000+ capacity Alexandra Palace replaced the 1,100 capacity Circus Tavern in 2008.

That demand is matched by the viewing figures of the tournament, with just under 1.5 million people tuning in for the final this year in the UK.

The support for darts has even seen the PDC take the sport across the Atlantic to the iconic Madison Square Garden in New York City, for the ‘US Darts Masters’ next month.

Radio DJ and Sky Sports Darts’ Polly James recalls the time when she first got bitten by the darts bug.

She said: “I got into darts seriously like 12/13 years ago, and that was when I first went to Ally Pally… by no means was it a quiet night out there!

“It was the party atmosphere and the whole big spectacle of this traditional pub game that has been turned into this huge theatre of dreams.”

Marc Kerr, who runs the darts-dedicated YouTube channel ‘LoveDarts’, is far from shocked about darts becoming a massive hit amongst the people.

“It doesn't surprise me especially as it's always been a very accessible sport,” he said.

“You don't have to have a lot of money to do it.

“I think people have realised there’s a lot more professionalism in it and have got behind it a lot more.

“You can go there and have a great time.”

Sports journalist and darts fan Kyle Curran says that social media has been integral in getting young people interested in the sport.

“I think it’s been great personally that in the last couple of years has seen a sharp rise in younger people getting into darts – and I think a lot of that is to do with social media.

“As a fan myself, it’s great that more and more people are getting into it my age.”

However, there is an ugly side to the fan culture surrounding the sport that cannot be ignored – and that’s the booing.

Like any sport, the fans have their favourites, but it has led to the unfortunate opponent being put off on match-winning doubles by booing and whistling from some of those in attendance.

It was something Dobey experienced first-hand when he faced Fallon Sherrock – the first woman to win a game at the World Championship – at the Alexandra Palace.

He said on a crowd that was firmly on Sherrock’s side: “It was the test that I wanted for myself to see if I could handle the pressure.

“The first set kind of got me because I heard the crowd, they were so loud when I was on a double.”

Dobey revealed he used a clever tactic to quieten down the boo-boys.

“After the first set, I put some earplugs in.

“I could still hear the crowd booing me, but it just blocked a bit out and that helped me to focus a little more, and I think it helped.”

Booing is something that Dobey rarely gets in the grand scheme of things, something you cannot say about world number two Gerwyn Price, however.

Price has found himself as public enemy number one with the crowd ever since his controversial on-stage clash with fan favourite Gary Anderson at the 2018 Grand Slam of Darts.

And four years on, the boos seem to ring louder than ever before.

James recalls a moment at last year’s World Championship where she thought the crowd took it too far with Price.

She said: “I remember that one time he came on at Ally Pally and I was sitting right where the cameras were, and I could just hear these hooligan-ish chants.

“It just felt uncomfortable and that was the first time where it didn’t sit right with me.

“There's a couple of people who go really below the belt.”

Saying that, Price plays the pantomime villain role very well.

He’s a larger than life character on stage, and you certainly know about it when he lands a big checkout – a feat that comes with a trademark roar.

Kerr says that sometimes players do not help themselves.

“You're going to have your natural villains like Price who are going to play up to the crowd – and if he plays up to them, they're going to respond in that kind of way,” he said.

“For me, there's a time and a place but at the same time, if you respond in a certain way in front of a live crowd, you have to expect what you're going to get.”

But when it comes to the sport as a whole, it is unquestionable that the fan culture surrounding darts has taken it to another level – even if it has come with a few negatives along the way.

On attending live darting events in person, Curran only has positives to say.

He said: “A night at the darts is brilliant, it’s always a great atmosphere.

“I’ve been to a couple myself and everyone’s there for the same reason: just to have a good time.

“If it wasn’t for fans packing out arenas, I don’t think it would be anywhere near as big as it is now.”

Playing darts in front of thousands of people is the equivalent of performing open-heart surgery on a dance floor.

And it is safe to say that this dance floor is getting bigger and bigger as the years go on…