Nothing beats the darts for a bit of festive cheer

December: the month of joy, happiness and wall-to-wall sport.

Saturday's draw for next summer's Euro 2024 finals is a perfect hors d'oeuvre for a salivating 2024 to come. But more immediately there is a festive feast of sporting action just waiting to be tucked into. 

There's more football than anyone can wish for, international cricket (for those that can bear any more of it), racing, rugby, boxing, snooker and, most excitingly for me, darts – well, that and the Clark family Christmas staple, World’s Strongest Man.

November to January is a fabulous time for sports fans and arrers aficionados in particular, with three major tournaments in quick succession. The start of the PDC World Championship at London's iconic Alexandra Palace on December 15 is the beginning of Christmas as far as I am concerned, and it should once again be a cracker.

Some people think of the Ally Pally spectacular as more akin to a wrestling-style sports entertainment event rather than an elite sporting tournament – but that could not be further from the truth. 

Day one of my sports journalism training began with the managing editor of the company asking students: "Is darts a sport?" 

Of 16 budding sports journalists, fewer than half agreed it was, something that has stuck with me ever since. It was exactly the answer he wanted; he never explained why, but he and all the others were wrong then and they still are now.

Sure, some darts players might not have your 'typical' athletic build, but they are still highly dedicated sportsmen and women who are every bit the equal of the snooker players, footballers and jockeys in action this weekend.

Both snooker and darts required a revival after a dip in popularity, but of the pair it is the latter that is thriving in a competitive sporting landscape. 

Snooker appears to have slipped behind, certainly with a younger audience, and much of that is surely down to fan experience. The closest snooker gets to a darts atmosphere is at the Masters, also held at Ally Pally. But in a sport where fans must remain quiet during play, it is hard to whip up the same fervour that a night at the darts brings.

My annual trip to the Palace is one of my yearly sporting highlights. The party is a blast, but for anyone who questions its legitimacy as a sport, nothing beats witnessing the skilled arrowsmiths at first hand.

I have covered the tournament professionally and seen the players close up as they exit the stage drenched in sweat. I have interviewed them after either the greatest night of their sporting life or the most disappointing. They are mentally and, yes, physically drained. 

The last thing a darts player wants is a cooling fan blowing their arrows off course, so the heat on stage is sweltering. The noise created by the crowd is deafening and the concentration levels the elite players have to show on the oche matches any athlete at the pinnacle of their sport.

Try asking Novak Djokovic or Judd Trump to hit a winning double with their last dart while four Teletubbies, a nun, and a penguin race to down a pint as 3,000 others egg them on. They’d cope, but mistakes would undoubtedly ensue. 

The tiniest noise in a snooker or tennis arena is usually followed swiftly by a threat of eviction. Try doing that to a darts crowd, not that you would want to ruin their fun. The atmosphere at the Palace is a major reason why the darts is such a thrilling event.

Whatever your sporting festive highlight, I hope you enjoy it every bit as much as I will the darts.  

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