Before Yankee Candles...
As I too have got the Luke Littler effect, I find myself obsessed once again with Darts for the first time in a good few years. Don't get me wrong I have always watched the World Matchplay and bits or pieces of other tournaments, but for the first time in well over a decade I am truly in love with pro darts again and it brought back lots of memories, hence this brief one off article.
In early 2002 (I think) I realised there was nothing on the internet for fans of professional darts, outside of the PDC (and I suppose BDO) website. Having had some success creating a social media platform for authors, I decided to give the world of Darts a go not quite realising how big things were going to get.
Now I didn't do this by half. For the best part of 8 years I worked more on Superstars of Darts than for my full time job. This involved compiling an extensive darts history website, reading and building the forum for about 50 hours a week, plus playing darts and travelling to some pro tour tournaments (the good old days when they had small crowds - I have never got my head around pro tour events played in silence - it's a crazy idea).
Anyway, Superstars of Darts at its peak cost me about £2,000 a year to run - the forum was huge, it was getting tens of thousands of visits per day.
Without going through a huge history here are 10 memorable moments before I go :
1. Wayne Mardle to me at a pro tour event "Oh my God, I can't believe I am in the presence of Andy F."
2. Kevin Painter at a pro tour event. "Oh, so you are Andy F are you I want a word with you. All these people slagging me off on your forum, it is a disgrace."
3. The late Martin Fitzmaurice on the phone to me one day. "Your forum is causing terrible damage to BDO players. I personally know of two who have lost sponsorships because of what has been said on your forum."
4. Meeting James Wade. Me - "Hello James , I am.....", James replies "I know exactly who you are" with a strange look on his face.
5. It was rumoured that Dave Whitcombe had about 100 pseudonyms on the forum. I can happily completely clear that rumour up for once and for all - it was no more than 20.
6. I had the pleasure of interviewing more players than I can remember - Phil Taylor, Raymond van Barneveld, James Wade, Kevin Painter, Colin Lloyd and many, many others.
7. Some of the players and officials that used to post regularly on Superstars of Darts (thank you all for the great memories) - Chris Mason, Paul Nicholson, Glen Durrant, Jamie Caven, Jason Clark, John Part, Russ Bray, the late Tommy Cox, Wayne Mardle...
8. Getting nice notes from players relatives for sticking up from them. James Wade's sister and Michael Van Gerwen's mum were two!
9. A memorable Darts pub of the year night with guest star Adrian Lewis and run by Unicorn Darts.
10. Being introduced by Graeme Stoddart to a then 15 or 16 year old new player at a pro tour event. Graeme told me that this boy would be world champion one day. The lad was one Michael Smith.
Anyway there we go a few bits and pieces and some memories. I had great fun with Superstars of Darts for the most part (it was a lot of work). Outside influences crept in and things weren't the same and I also had a big promotion at work at the start of 2010. It was time to walk away but thanks everyone for the special memories.
Ok, back to studying the latest rankings....
LINKS
Interview with Dartoid about Superstars of Darts
The PDC reports on Raymond van Barneveld winning Superstars of Darts poll
Chris Mason makes a statement via Superstars of Darts as reported by the BBC