Meet Tim "The Crow" Cronian...
Meet Tim "The Crow" Cronian, a darter you should know from Montgomery, Alabama.By day Tim is a computer programmer and by night he's webmaster of www.crowsdarts.com and, of course, a dart thrower. I met Tim, so to speak, by visiting his website and dropping him a line. He's got one of the most comprehensive dart sites on the web which includes strategy articles by multiple sources, a dart bar listing with thousands of pubs, advice columns, FAQs, dart-related product reviews with pros and cons, outcharts, tournament and blind draw information, chat rooms, petition to televise darts on ESPN, links and more. After reading his profile, stop by his site and take a look around.
His last name is Cronian, but since some people have had problems pronouncing his last name he has been nicknamed "Crow". Tim also has a sense of humor and writes "Nobody has pronounced Crow incorrectly!". One of the stories he tells is when, as underdogs, his team in Birmingham managed to upset the number one team. After shooting great darts, Tim was at a blind-draw when the league president came up to him to say congratulations for the win and he then proceeded to ask Tim "if Tim Cronian threw that night...". Most people simply know him as Crow, but the stats listed his full name. So Tim replied "I wouldn't have driven all the way to Birmingham just to watch!". Of course everyone started laughing, even though most of them didn't know his real name anymore then the league president.
Tim plays both steel-tip and plastic, but prefers steel tip because:
- He can spend his quarters on something more important then games, like cold beer
- In steel, the dart counts where the dart sticks
- Math, math, math. In steel-tip you need to know your math...
Tim's been playing since 1985 when he and a friend were driving around Duncan, OK on a Friday night and stumbled into a party with a dart room. He's been hooked ever since.
About Tim...
Darts
Soft-tip - 16 gram Black Widows
Steel-tip - 25 gram moveable point Gold Widows
First Team
The Infiltrators
Favorite Tournaments
Tournaments held for charity..."Everyone, regardless of skill level, comes out to support a good cause and to simply have a good time".
Favorite Places to Play in Montgomery, AL
Flanagan's and Doodle Hoppers
Favorite Dart Websites
Saint Charles Dart League, Darts Federations of Australia, The Dart Thrower .
Favorite Dart Phrase
Right There! "It used to be something people would say when a partner or opponent would barely miss what he/she was throwing at. It quickly turned into a sarcastic phrase that was said when somebody missed their target by a mile".
Three Words That Describe Tim Best
(In his own words...) Competitive, compassionate and sarcastic/smart-ass
Tim admits he doesn't practice the way he used to but he still throws 2 - 3 times a week. His practice routine is half-it and rotation on doubles, with a log to track improvement.
The Infiltrators was the first team that Tim played on. Some of his other team names have been "Brick Shyt House", "The Black Widows" and "Mama's Boys". He goes on to say, regarding the "Brick Shyt House" that "half of the team preferred Brick House, the other wanted to go by the Shit House". They reached a compromise and had to intentionally misspell Shit so the local papers would print the league results. He and his team members thought "The Black Widows" was a cool name, and then they remembered the Clint Eastwood movie Every Which Way But Lose. "The biker gang that couldn't do anything right were called The Black Widows and it just seemed appropriate." And the "Mama's Boys"? "The team consisted of Billy Little, his wife Linda and their two sons Eric & Jimmy" and then Tim. He was unofficially adopted. Linda was the bar owner and all the patrons called here Mama. "She was the team captain and the only female on the team, hence the name Mama's Boys".
The darters that Tim admires most are the volunteer darters that help run their local leagues and tournaments. "Leagues and tournaments that players are used to, regardless of the size, wouldn't happen if not for people willing to step up and do the work. These individuals usually receive little or no credit when everything runs smoothly , but are lambasted if things go wrong." These are the darters that Tim admires most. (Author's note from Sherilyn: I have a lot of respect for Tim as a webmaster because his site is very comprehensive and very cool...For this question I expected him to name some professional darters or fellow teammates that he admires. His answer of admiring the volunteers who run the tournaments just makes him even more of a likeable kind of darter!)
His first tournament was in Atlanta at a Shriner's temple. Tim found it intimidating to walk into a room with hundreds of throwers and over 40 dartboards. He didn't win any money that weekend but he had a great time. That's when Tim realized that the vast majority of dart throwers, regardless of their skill level, are generally good people. He goes on to say "I have found that to remain true to this day, even as the number of throwers has increased.".
One of Tim's memorable moments playing darts..."I went to the Peachtree Open, in Atlanta, back in 1988. That Friday night there was a blind draw '301 DI/DO tournament. I drew Eric Bristow as a partner. We had a great time and made it to the top four where we lost 2-1 to Paul Lim and his partner. I've read a number of articles over the years, especially on the Internet, that stated Eric was extremely arrogant and a few other 'less then complimentary' things. Eric was very cordial and friendly towards me (a no-name thrower from Alabama) that night and he even stood in line the next morning to buy me a beer!".
When you find yourself in a slump Tim advises that "I've found it easier just to stay in the slump". When he threw more competitively he would try different darts because a different weight or grip forced him to concentrate on what he was doing more. This in turn made him slow down, which would generally make his darts more accurate. That explains why he's owned so many sets of darts over the years!
Tim's words of wisdom for the novice darter? "Enjoy the game and do not get discouraged. There's always going to be somebody out there that is better then you. The only way to get better is to practice and to throw against those same people that will beat you. Playing against lesser competition might be good for the ego, but it isn't going to improve your game. Also remember to begin and end each game/match with a handshake. The only thing worse and more annoying then a sore loser is a sore winner..."
One of the questions that I asked Tim is "In your own words, what qualities embody the Passionate Darter?". Tim replied "love of the game, competitive but fair, willing to stop and teach new throwers regardless of how much they do or do not know, someone who corrects any errors that might occur during a game, even when it benefits the opponent, and the Passionate Darter begins and ends every game/match with a handshake". Tim said it pretty well, but I'll add another quality that Tim possesses...through his website, weekly play, enthusiasm and sportsmanship he promotes the game of darts in a positive manner. Yes, Tim "The Crow" Cronian is a Passionate Darter you should know. You can visit his website at www.crowsdarts.com!
Check out a picture of Tim's dartroom...He's got a championship board (doubles and triples are half the size) and a quad board (an extra quad ring between the trip ring and the bulls-eye worth, 4 times the points).
My genuine and sincere thanks to Tim "The Crow" Cronian for being the first darter to be profiled here on The Passionate Darter site. Until next time, shoot well and I'll see you at the line.