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Why We Play Darts

I'm going to let you all in on a terrible secret: in the times I've attempted to throw a dart, I've either fallen on my face or made holes in the surrounding furniture. If I were to seriously try to play darts, I would probably injure someone.

It's harder than it looks!

However, In the interest of public safety, I've decided to refrain from perfecting my dart tossing skills.

Still, that doesn't stop me from joining my buddies at our local pub every other Tuesday night to watch them play (and once in a while participate). Ahern's Pub is a small bar and grill, with the no-door dart board on the wall in the dining area. When my buddies (and I, in those rare instances) play, we have to push the tables and chairs out of the way to give ourselves the standard seven feet, nine and a quarter inches of required horizontal floor space to play the game right.

We're not sure if the manager appreciates the furniture rearrangement, then again he probably shouldn't put a dart board in such an awkward location unless he anticipates our actions. If anything, we're actually performing him a service by moving the wooden tables and chairs out of harm's way; other inconsiderate and inebriated pub patrons might try to play the game without thinking about the welfare of the furniture. Although, since the manager invested in hammer head darts that are designed with collapsible tips in order to absorb shock, he might be a more meticulous manager than we previously assumed.

Nevertheless, while I busy myself retrieving the beer and chicken wings, and my friends usually argue for ten minutes before they pick the same game they pick every time we come out: cricket. Cricket is played by hitting numbers 15 through 20 and the cork, or bull's eye, three times each.

My buddies inform me that they always pick cricket because they consider it a challenging game that requires a lot of skill and concentration. Coincidentally, as I keep feeding them drinks throughout the night they become more and more challenged and the game ends up requiring more and more skill, not just to hit the same number, but by the end of our night to hit the board at all!

Regardless of the affects a high blood-alcohol content can have on their level of skills, a few of my friends in our Tuesday night meetings compete in annual tournaments. Even though the tournaments are played for money, my buddies insist that the atmosphere is friendly and easy-going; there's no tension in the game, even with a strong incentive to win. Besides, from what I'm told, a Canadian always wins anyway!

We have dart nights every other Tuesday not for the game or the practice (although it's a good excuse), but because darts is a social game.

Even challenging games like cricket are stress-free and friendly. Darts is an unusual sport. Other bar games like billiards can get quiet and intense, but when we play darts we always find ourselves laughing and joking around. Darts, for us, isn't played for the simple sake of playing; we play because it's our fun excuse to get some cheap chicken wings and enjoy each others' company on a weeknight. Darts, in essence, keeps us connected.

Learn more about this author, Whitney Worden.
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