Chicago's Windy City Open, September, 2008 USA
The Chicago Windy City Open was held this last weekend, 09/11/08 through 09/14/08 at The Radisson Hotel in Northbrook, Illinois USA (the midwestern part of the states...) As a Chicago darter, I look forward to attending the open every year - this particular tournament, run by the Windy City Darters, includes competitors from all over the world all vying for a grand payout. This tournament is for all passionate darters, amateurs and professionals alike, and is always a good time.
Attending this tournament is like going to a Homecoming of sorts - it's the time not only to compete and throw some great darts, but to watch the pros in action throwing some great darts to see friends that you haven't seen since the last annual tournament. Indeed, the tournament was a blast and I ran into so many darters that I knew, met new darters, and even met several darters that I had previously not met but had interviewed for my website. What can I say? This was the most awesome weekend that I have had in a long time and if you've never attended this tournament, now is the time to make plans to attend this tournament next year!
Not far from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, the tournament hotel is easy to get to. Granted the setup is not ideal - there were at least 6 or 7 rooms for competition on two different floors but this didn't seem to bother passionate darters one bit. In fact, everyone gave it their all and some great darts were thrown!
The weekend started off with a pro-am event, and also included a PDC Championship event, complete with a dress code and for the PDC throwers, no alcohol was allowed while shooting, not even behind the line. Yes, this was a serious, but fun tournament. As for the non PDC throwers, there was plenty of alcohol to help one relax at the line.
As the unpredictable Chicago whether would have it, it rained profusely and several cars at the tournament parking lot were buried under water. My heart goes out to those folks...
As for the Ladies MVP award - that deservingly went to Stacy Bromberg, the #1 US woman darter from Las Vegas, Nevada. A special congratulations to Stacy for her shooting and accomplishments at this tournament. As luck would have it I was able to meet Stacy up close and personal and she was simply the best - gracious and generous to a fault and gave me a great big bear hug. It was also great to see Stacy later chalking for others - something that not all pros step up to do - even though they should. Yes, Stacy is a class act...
As for being a "Passionate Darter", I am not sure where this comes from but I am absolutely a committed, fanatical, ardent and a "Passionate Darter!" In a book that I recently read titled "Boy's Life" by Robert McCammon, there is a passage that I absolutely and unequivocally love. The passage refers to the wonder and awe that we have as children toward the world. What does this have to do with darts, you ask? Keep reading...
The passage refers to the magic inside all of us as children and reads "You see, we are all start out knowing magic. We are born with whirlwinds, forest fires, and comets inside us. We are born able to sing to birds and read the clouds and see our destiny in grains of sand. But then we get the magic educated right out of our souls. We get it churched out, spanked out, washed out, and combed out. We get put on the straight and narrow and told to be responsible. Told to act our age. Told to grow up, for God's sake. And you know why we were told that? Because the people doing the telling were afraid of our wildness and youth, and because the magic we knew made them ashamed and sad of what they'd allowed to wither in themselves."
"After you go so far away from it, though, you can't really get it back. You can have seconds of it. Just seconds of knowing and remembering. When people get weepy at movies, it's because in that dark theater the golden pool of magic is touched, just briefly. Then they come out into the sun of logic and reason again and it dries up, and they're left feeling a little heart-sad and not knowing why. When a song stirs a memory, when motes of dust running in a shaft of light takes your attention from the world, when you listen to a train passing on a track at night in the distance and wonder where it might be going, you step beyond who you are and where you are. For the briefest of instants, you have stepped into the magic realm."
"The truth of life is that every year we get farther away from the essence that is born within us. We get shouldered from the essence that is born within us We get shouldered with burdens, some of them good, some of them not so good. Things happen to us. loved ones die. People get in wrecks and get crippled. People lose their way, for one reason or another. It's not hard to do, in this world of crazy mazes. Life itself does its best to take that memory of magic away of us. You don't know it's happening until one day you feel you've lost something but you're not sure what it is. It's like smiling at a pretty girl and she calls you 'Sir or Madam.' It just happens."
"I need the memory of magic if I am ever going to conjure magic again. I need to know and remember, and I want to tell you..."
So, again, what does this have to do with darts and being a "Passionate Darter?"
Playing darts and being in the zone is like having that magic back that one had as a kid when you didn't have the worries of a responsible grown-up. This is the same magic one had as a kid - the kind of magic that we busy adults seem to have lost as we've grown up and taken on all those necessary responsibilities of being a grown-up. As a responsible grown-up, we go to work, deal daily with difficult people, we worry about budgets, and money and paying our bills and the mortgage...we stress about the errands we have to run, the car repairs, the broken appliances, we worry about the time we never seem to have enough of, we worry about the future, and sometimes bad things happen along the way. Where did that magic go? And where did that joy in the moment go, when nothing else mattered? And how does one get it back, living an authentic life without regrets? And living in the moment, appreciating the joy in every little thing and every single moment...After all, that's what the magic is all about and the worst thing would be to live one's life without that magic, with that joy...
Even for a moment or an evening of darts, or for a weekend tournament, the magic is back and there are no worries! When you're standing at the line, staring that triple-20 down and thinking about the out-shot after that, you are living in the moment. I love darts for so many magical reasons. When you're at the line, there are no worries and you're living joyfully, just like you did when you were a kid! Playing darts is like having that magic back! It's like staying out after dark as a kid, and getting your clothes all dirty because you're playing so hard, and catching fire-flies and thinking of nothing else, especially not the future. Playing darts feels great, better than great, especially to hit that Ton-80, those 3 perfect darts! This means living in the moment and not thinking about the future other than the hope of the next turn at the line and those awesome darts...Sometimes living in the joyful, magical moment is to double out with that last dart and hit the double-bull so you may advance to the next level at a tournament. Or when you are in the zone and feel unstoppable, when your adrenaline is pumping and your heart is beating so fast it's about to jump out of your chest - and somehow you find the accuracy you need, just when you need it - nothing beats that feeling. It's the challenge. It's the triumph of winning. It's the hope of doing your best and finding that mental zone within yourself. Darts are fun, more than fun, they are magical! And just like a kid, being a grown-up and being able to play darts is living joyfully in the moment, not worrying about the future or what you should be doing with your life, experiencing the happiness of those moments, and that magic that we once lived for every single moment of our life as a kid...when we didn't have to worry about the future or all the burdens of life. When you're at the line and nothing else matters, that magic is back! It is simply joyful and magical and there is no other way to describe it.
And like a kid again, even for a moment or an afternoon or an evening of darts, all the heavy burdens of being a grown-up with those necessary responsibilities are forgotten...even if only for the night, just for those moments, the magic and the joy is back, and at that moment in time when you're at the line, nothing else matters. And there is nothing in the world like it!
Attending Chicago's Windy City Open was pure joy - enjoying friends, seeing darters you hadn't seen since the last tournament and thinking of nothing else, certainly not all the pressures of one's day to day life away from the line. And again, there is nothing like living in the moment and experiencing that joy and magic that escapes most of our days as grown-ups living responsible lives. That is what being a "Passionate Darter" is all about and we live for those moments!
Now that's a great weekend for a "Passionate Darter" like Stacy Bromberg! And I was glad to be there to watch Stacy play, meet her partner Marilyn Popp, and introduce myself. She has been so very gracious with her time and energies with me while interviewing her over the past couple of months for my website, that it was simply a pleasure to meet her. Stay tuned for her upcoming interview because it is already shaping up to be an awesome piece and Stacy is not only a great darter, but a strong woman and class act.
If you've never traveled to Chicago to compete in the Windy City Open, usually held in September of every year, now is the time to start planning your trip for next year's event. I rate it a "Ton80" in my book and this is one tournament that you don't want to miss!
As always, shoot well and I'll see you at the line.
Here is a slide show with pictures of the friends that I ran into at the tournament, together with some new ones I met along the way...
Attending this tournament is like going to a Homecoming of sorts - it's the time not only to compete and throw some great darts, but to watch the pros in action throwing some great darts to see friends that you haven't seen since the last annual tournament. Indeed, the tournament was a blast and I ran into so many darters that I knew, met new darters, and even met several darters that I had previously not met but had interviewed for my website. What can I say? This was the most awesome weekend that I have had in a long time and if you've never attended this tournament, now is the time to make plans to attend this tournament next year!
Not far from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, the tournament hotel is easy to get to. Granted the setup is not ideal - there were at least 6 or 7 rooms for competition on two different floors but this didn't seem to bother passionate darters one bit. In fact, everyone gave it their all and some great darts were thrown!
The weekend started off with a pro-am event, and also included a PDC Championship event, complete with a dress code and for the PDC throwers, no alcohol was allowed while shooting, not even behind the line. Yes, this was a serious, but fun tournament. As for the non PDC throwers, there was plenty of alcohol to help one relax at the line.
As the unpredictable Chicago whether would have it, it rained profusely and several cars at the tournament parking lot were buried under water. My heart goes out to those folks...
As for the Ladies MVP award - that deservingly went to Stacy Bromberg, the #1 US woman darter from Las Vegas, Nevada. A special congratulations to Stacy for her shooting and accomplishments at this tournament. As luck would have it I was able to meet Stacy up close and personal and she was simply the best - gracious and generous to a fault and gave me a great big bear hug. It was also great to see Stacy later chalking for others - something that not all pros step up to do - even though they should. Yes, Stacy is a class act...
As for being a "Passionate Darter", I am not sure where this comes from but I am absolutely a committed, fanatical, ardent and a "Passionate Darter!" In a book that I recently read titled "Boy's Life" by Robert McCammon, there is a passage that I absolutely and unequivocally love. The passage refers to the wonder and awe that we have as children toward the world. What does this have to do with darts, you ask? Keep reading...
The passage refers to the magic inside all of us as children and reads "You see, we are all start out knowing magic. We are born with whirlwinds, forest fires, and comets inside us. We are born able to sing to birds and read the clouds and see our destiny in grains of sand. But then we get the magic educated right out of our souls. We get it churched out, spanked out, washed out, and combed out. We get put on the straight and narrow and told to be responsible. Told to act our age. Told to grow up, for God's sake. And you know why we were told that? Because the people doing the telling were afraid of our wildness and youth, and because the magic we knew made them ashamed and sad of what they'd allowed to wither in themselves."
"After you go so far away from it, though, you can't really get it back. You can have seconds of it. Just seconds of knowing and remembering. When people get weepy at movies, it's because in that dark theater the golden pool of magic is touched, just briefly. Then they come out into the sun of logic and reason again and it dries up, and they're left feeling a little heart-sad and not knowing why. When a song stirs a memory, when motes of dust running in a shaft of light takes your attention from the world, when you listen to a train passing on a track at night in the distance and wonder where it might be going, you step beyond who you are and where you are. For the briefest of instants, you have stepped into the magic realm."
"The truth of life is that every year we get farther away from the essence that is born within us. We get shouldered from the essence that is born within us We get shouldered with burdens, some of them good, some of them not so good. Things happen to us. loved ones die. People get in wrecks and get crippled. People lose their way, for one reason or another. It's not hard to do, in this world of crazy mazes. Life itself does its best to take that memory of magic away of us. You don't know it's happening until one day you feel you've lost something but you're not sure what it is. It's like smiling at a pretty girl and she calls you 'Sir or Madam.' It just happens."
"I need the memory of magic if I am ever going to conjure magic again. I need to know and remember, and I want to tell you..."
So, again, what does this have to do with darts and being a "Passionate Darter?"
Playing darts and being in the zone is like having that magic back that one had as a kid when you didn't have the worries of a responsible grown-up. This is the same magic one had as a kid - the kind of magic that we busy adults seem to have lost as we've grown up and taken on all those necessary responsibilities of being a grown-up. As a responsible grown-up, we go to work, deal daily with difficult people, we worry about budgets, and money and paying our bills and the mortgage...we stress about the errands we have to run, the car repairs, the broken appliances, we worry about the time we never seem to have enough of, we worry about the future, and sometimes bad things happen along the way. Where did that magic go? And where did that joy in the moment go, when nothing else mattered? And how does one get it back, living an authentic life without regrets? And living in the moment, appreciating the joy in every little thing and every single moment...After all, that's what the magic is all about and the worst thing would be to live one's life without that magic, with that joy...
Even for a moment or an evening of darts, or for a weekend tournament, the magic is back and there are no worries! When you're standing at the line, staring that triple-20 down and thinking about the out-shot after that, you are living in the moment. I love darts for so many magical reasons. When you're at the line, there are no worries and you're living joyfully, just like you did when you were a kid! Playing darts is like having that magic back! It's like staying out after dark as a kid, and getting your clothes all dirty because you're playing so hard, and catching fire-flies and thinking of nothing else, especially not the future. Playing darts feels great, better than great, especially to hit that Ton-80, those 3 perfect darts! This means living in the moment and not thinking about the future other than the hope of the next turn at the line and those awesome darts...Sometimes living in the joyful, magical moment is to double out with that last dart and hit the double-bull so you may advance to the next level at a tournament. Or when you are in the zone and feel unstoppable, when your adrenaline is pumping and your heart is beating so fast it's about to jump out of your chest - and somehow you find the accuracy you need, just when you need it - nothing beats that feeling. It's the challenge. It's the triumph of winning. It's the hope of doing your best and finding that mental zone within yourself. Darts are fun, more than fun, they are magical! And just like a kid, being a grown-up and being able to play darts is living joyfully in the moment, not worrying about the future or what you should be doing with your life, experiencing the happiness of those moments, and that magic that we once lived for every single moment of our life as a kid...when we didn't have to worry about the future or all the burdens of life. When you're at the line and nothing else matters, that magic is back! It is simply joyful and magical and there is no other way to describe it.
And like a kid again, even for a moment or an afternoon or an evening of darts, all the heavy burdens of being a grown-up with those necessary responsibilities are forgotten...even if only for the night, just for those moments, the magic and the joy is back, and at that moment in time when you're at the line, nothing else matters. And there is nothing in the world like it!
Attending Chicago's Windy City Open was pure joy - enjoying friends, seeing darters you hadn't seen since the last tournament and thinking of nothing else, certainly not all the pressures of one's day to day life away from the line. And again, there is nothing like living in the moment and experiencing that joy and magic that escapes most of our days as grown-ups living responsible lives. That is what being a "Passionate Darter" is all about and we live for those moments!
Upon entering the tournament hall, I found Stacy Bromberg in the middle of a match and quietly took my seat to watch her match. Stacy shot well with some incredibly tight groups, great consistency, on-target doubles and came back stronger than ever after occasionally missing her intended targets. She shot better than well! As I am in the middle of interviewing Stacy for this website, I wanted to watch her throw at the line, and see her in action...not only did she throw some great darts but she was gracious with her opponents AND chalkers, and she also did her fair share of chalking herself. Overall, she simply shot great and obviously deserved the Women's MVP award that was awarded to her.Pictured here are Marilyn Popp, Sherilyn Herkey and Stacy Bromberg, all "Passionate Darters" at Chicago's Windy City Open, '2008.
Now that's a great weekend for a "Passionate Darter" like Stacy Bromberg! And I was glad to be there to watch Stacy play, meet her partner Marilyn Popp, and introduce myself. She has been so very gracious with her time and energies with me while interviewing her over the past couple of months for my website, that it was simply a pleasure to meet her. Stay tuned for her upcoming interview because it is already shaping up to be an awesome piece and Stacy is not only a great darter, but a strong woman and class act.
If you've never traveled to Chicago to compete in the Windy City Open, usually held in September of every year, now is the time to start planning your trip for next year's event. I rate it a "Ton80" in my book and this is one tournament that you don't want to miss!
As always, shoot well and I'll see you at the line.