The vast majority of darts legs in which this reporter participated quickly degenerated into an endless, grueling battle to hit the 'Double 1' before the other guy - preferably before closing time. This was a tall order considering some of these games went on as long as the Super Bowl.
When Gary Anderson threw his first three sets of darts, he hit '140', '180' and '140'.
Listen to interview with Gary Anderson on The Racket
The Scottish Formula One champion Jim Clark could never understand how other drivers couldn't do the things he could do with a car. His countryman, who has won the last two PDC World Championships, feels much the same way.
Anderson, who competes in the Premier League of Darts in the 3Arena tomorrow, spoke to Balls.ie about the life of a darts player, the psychology of darts and his beginning in the sport.
My first three darts, I hit '140', '180' and '140'... I've tried teaching people and I can't understand why they hit one '20' and then hit a '13' when they're going for the '20'. I can't see why they can throw one dart fine and then the next dart goes away. That's harded for me to explain than how I do it.
So, it's true to say that darts players are born, not made?
No, no, I would not say Phil Taylor is a natural dart player. He's had to work at it. They're boys who can... Adi (Adrian) Lewis could probably wake up and chuck with his eyes shut. Phil's worked at it all his life. That's why he's ruled darts for 20 or 30 years. He's put the time in. He's taught himself. It's just been darts.
Since its earliest days as a TV phenomenon, Darts players have been routinely derided for their physique. Anderson attributes this to the lifestyle and says he challenges any 'health freak' to try and live their life for a year.
People laugh at us. You pick anyone in this world who is fit or a health freak. You stick them on the road with us for a year. I guarantee you that they'll be fucked. They cannot do what we do. When you're sleeping, I'm driving for eight hours through the night. Where do you stop to get food at that time?
It's just whatever you can get. We do hundreds and hundreds of miles on the road. People mock about it. But we've got no home life. We're in hotels. If we're not in hotels, we're in airports, if we're not in airports, we're in trains, if we're not in trains, we're driving.
I've said it before. Anyone who thinks they're fit. Come and do what we do for a year and you'll be a bundle of mess.
What does Anderson think about the standard of darts in this country? Ireland has never had a world champion and no one has reached the closing stages of the World Championship since the mid-1990s.
It's the same in Scotland. There is a hell of a lot of good dart players about. But I don't know if it's commitment. It costs a fair quid to do the circuit. The thought of maybe paying £110 entry. But at the end of the day you're walking away with 10 grand. So, I don't know... It's the boys that say 'I could have done it'. That's what cheeses me off. If they were good enough, they would have done it.
Gary Anderson, who is an ambassador for Unicorn, was speaking at an in-store event in Elvery's in Dundrum today. He competes in the Premier League of Darts in the 3Arena tomorrow.
