03/02/02 True Dart Tales From The Toe Line

Welcome to today's diddy where I will regal you with some true (yes, really true) dart tales that happened to yours truly, the passionate darter.

Most recently I was unnerved when shooting against a fella in a singles match. I'll refer to him as a fella because I'm not sure gentleman is the correct term. We both warmed up on the board and both stepped back. Usually this indicates that both players are ready to begin the match. Just as I told him that I was ready to show him a diddle, he excused himself to go to the mens' room. This in itself is a little irritating, but it happens, and I wasn't going to let it get the best of me. What was he doing in there? He seemed to be taking an inordinate amount of time in there. Finally I sat down to make chit-chat with my teammates. He returned, we diddled and the match began. Right away I noticed that he was disrupting the rhythm of the game with the amount of time spent at the line. Some people are fast shooters, some people are slow shooters but this guy could have been timed with a clock, not a stopwatch. While waiting for him to shoot I would look away and focus on my game. He was taking forever with his arm extended as if he was going to throw and then he'd stop and wait. How long can you stand at the line with your arm extended, concentrating on your next throw? I assume he was concentrating on his darts, and next toss, but I really have no idea what he was thinking about. Again, I would turn away, talk to my teammates, anything but watch him spend minutes at the line. It was very distracting...

As we got into range of an out, I watched him throw more closely to pick up on his strategy. This is what he did: he would step up to the line and extend his right arm as if getting ready to throw. He spent a few moments like that, and then would step back and shift his weight to his left foot. Now, with his darts in his right hand, I swear this fella would grab his "package" with the left hand and do a little rearranging, or whatever it is men do with their package while in public. Then he would step back to the line, extend his arm, wait a few more moments and then throw his darts. I lost it. I admit it, I lost the mental edge. Then, the guy had 57 left and one dart in his hand. He shot at the bulls-eye to leave himself 7. What usually spurs me on and gives me confidence to win (someone who doesn't necessarily know what they are shooting at, or someone who is not paying attention to the game) just left me during this match. How could he stare at the board for so long and still shoot at the wrong number? And then, to top it off, he's adjusting his package at the line before every throw.

I busted (yes, I busted all right) and lost the match. Honestly, I was glad the match was over and shook his right hand to say nice darts. At that point I'm thinking two things...thank goodness he shook my hand with his right hand and not (the package-adjusting) left hand, and secondly, what was he doing in the men's room before the match began?

Here are some more of my "dart-related" tales...

Playing Darts on the Wrong Side of the Tracks...
Dogs & Darts Just Don't Mix!
Fight Scene...
How NOT to Change Points on Your Steel-Tip Darts...
Crime Doesn't Pay...
A Mixed-Doubles Story...
How Far Would You Drive To Get to Dart League?
Yes, These Things Really Do Happen...

Do you have any amusing dart tales? Click on the E-mail link below and drop me a note. Good luck, and I'll see you at the line.