RL at the Darts

[Worzel]

32 minutes ago, The Masked Poster said:

You're a belittling bully, who gets away with it because you have umpteen posts and are important. 

However, I know better than to argue with the status quo on here. 

I love the idea that having umpteen posts makes people important. Where I'm from what actually counts is whether you have many leather-bound books, and does your apartment smell of rich mahogany

If we're changing the rules, I'll need to up my game! 

 

Edited December 23, 2024 by Worzel
Typo

[Mumby Magic]

I'm lost now. The Masked and is saying RL is bigger than darts and Gingerjon the other way?

[The Masked Poster]

1 hour ago, Worzel said:

I love the idea that having umpteen posts makes people important. Where I'm from what actually counts is whether you have many leather-bound books, and does your apartment smell of rich mahogany

If we're changing the rules, I'll need to up my game! 

 

It means nothing in real life but the mentality of people who spend a large amount of time on an Internet forum makes them legends in their own minds. 

[The Masked Poster]

13 minutes ago, Mumby Magic said:

I'm lost now. The Masked and is saying RL is bigger than darts and Gingerjon the other way?

I'm saying Darts is, sadly, way bigger than RL. Both in terms of participation and viewing figures etc 

[HawkMan]

To simplify,  RL gets more viewers throughout the season, but that is mainly the same people viewing over and over. Everyone knows that is true. Sky money for RL is greater than Darts. Darts is an event sport, if its a sport at all, and the big events certainly get more eyeballs than RL, and probably a few other sports.

The point of this thread is Littler, Smith et al, giving RL a lift because of the eyeballs on the darts might be tempted to try RL. That'll be illogical if darts was smaller as in the numbers of eyeballs on it. So RL bigger, but darts greater number of different eyeballs watching.

[Click]

8 minutes ago, The Masked Poster said:

It means nothing in real life but the mentality of people who spend a large amount of time on an Internet forum makes them legends in their own minds. 

You just sound jealous now.

[Mumby Magic]

9 minutes ago, The Masked Poster said:

I'm saying Darts is, sadly, way bigger than RL. Both in terms of participation and viewing figures etc 

I agree with you and I've known Gingerjon on here for years. 

[Griff]

Just now, HawkMan said:

To simplify,  RL gets more viewers throughout the season, but that is mainly the same people viewing over and over. Everyone knows that is true. Sky money for RL is greater than Darts. Darts is an event sport, if its a sport at all, and the big events certainly get more eyeballs than RL, and probably a few other sports.

That's true.  Pastimes like darts and snooker only have a few events a year and interest is concentrated on those events.  If they were playing every week, viewing figures wouldn't be so high.

[The Masked Poster]

6 minutes ago, Click said:

You just sound jealous now.

Well for that to be true I'd have to care. 

You have a Merry Christmas now. 

[The Masked Poster]

5 minutes ago, Griff said:

That's true.  Pastimes like darts and snooker only have a few events a year and interest is concentrated on those events.  If they were playing every week, viewing figures wouldn't be so high.

Fair points, I think though, you can do your own experiment if you want. Look at the times when we have a big RL event on, maybe a GF or an international series. Compare the promotion and hype for the events and see what the interest is in bars and pubs. 

In my experience, RL gets very little casual random punters showing an interest, especially today. 

But we are free to compare or disagree.

[Dunbar]

33 minutes ago, The Masked Poster said:

I'm saying Darts is, sadly, way bigger than RL. Both in terms of participation and viewing figures etc 

According to the latest data from the Active Lives participation survey, which measures sports adults (aged 16+) who have taken part in sport and physical activity at least twice in the last 28 days, darts had 11,300 participants while Rugby League had 55,800.

[Tommygilf]

24 minutes ago, Griff said:

That's true.  Pastimes like darts and snooker only have a few events a year and interest is concentrated on those events.  If they were playing every week, viewing figures wouldn't be so high.

Darts do play their Premier league for 3 months or so consecutively, indeed they have supplanted us on Thursdays on Sky and in most pubs as the TV viewing of choice.

[gingerjon]

9 minutes ago, Tommygilf said:

Darts do play their Premier league for 3 months or so consecutively, indeed they have supplanted us on Thursdays on Sky and in most pubs as the TV viewing of choice.

That'll be even easier for them to do this year.

Remind me what the general sporting attitude to Thursday games is, by the way?

[Dullish Mood]

4 hours ago, gingerjon said:

We’ve had Sky launches led by people from other sports - Bradley Wiggins for example - and people moaned.

We do okay for using the dartists. Not sure there’s much more mileage for us given that RL is the bigger sport.

“bigger sport”

[Eddie]

3 hours ago, gingerjon said:

I’ll bear that in mind the next time you say basketball or handball in Europe is small because look at their crowds!

I think you can make the argument that the World Championship is a decently big event story-wise but I do think it’s quite revealing that they had the chance to move to a bigger venue and didn’t take it. It is definitely bigger than any individual thing that UK RL does.

Overall, though, I honestly don’t think there’s much of a contest. RL is bigger.

I’ve never said basketball or handball in Europe are small, I don’t have any interest in or knowledge of either. 

[Eddie]

55 minutes ago, Dunbar said:

According to the latest data from the Active Lives participation survey, which measures sports adults (aged 16+) who have taken part in sport and physical activity at least twice in the last 28 days, darts had 11,300 participants while Rugby League had 55,800.

I’m amazed if there are only 11,300 people who’ve played darts twice in the last 28 days. In every boozer in the country where there’s a board there are people playing, maybe that figure is just organised competitions. 

[Dunbar]

4 minutes ago, Eddie said:

I’m amazed if there are only 11,300 people who’ve played darts twice in the last 28 days. In every boozer in the country where there’s a board there are people playing, maybe that figure is just organised competitions. 

Yes, it certainly could be - I was surprised the number was so low.

Having said that, I can't remember the last time I saw people playing darts in a pub and the pubs I go in most frequently don't have dart boards. 

[Eddie]

8 minutes ago, Dunbar said:

Yes, it certainly could be - I was surprised the number was so low.

Having said that, I can't remember the last time I saw people playing darts in a pub and the pubs I go in most frequently don't have dart boards. 

Most of them round where I live have them and they’re usually in use (which is annoying as I often want to play myself). Agreed it may be a local thing though, and possibly more of a rural thing too. 

[Dunbar]

6 minutes ago, Eddie said:

Most of them round where I live have them and they’re usually in use (which is annoying as I often want to play myself). Agreed it may be a local thing though, and possibly more of a rural thing too. 

It could be.  The pubs round here would definitely try and squeeze another table in for food.

As for organized competition.  I don't think it just focusses on that (walking is in for example) but if someone surveyed you about what sports activities you did in the last 28 days, you may not think about the darts you threw when you were having a few pints (although I am very close to opening up that game vs. sports debate again).

[unapologetic pedant]

4 hours ago, The Masked Poster said:

You can try to be as patronising as you like, and try to bully other much less important forum members as much as you want.  

Who are these much less important forum members?

[unapologetic pedant]

39 minutes ago, Dunbar said:

Yes, it certainly could be - I was surprised the number was so low.

Having said that, I can't remember the last time I saw people playing darts in a pub and the pubs I go in most frequently don't have dart boards. 

There was a dartboard at Bolton Lads Club in the 70s. But no darts. Can't imagine why.

[gingerjon]

46 minutes ago, Dunbar said:

Yes, it certainly could be - I was surprised the number was so low.

Having said that, I can't remember the last time I saw people playing darts in a pub and the pubs I go in most frequently don't have dart boards. 

I was trying to remember the last time I saw anyone playing in a pub and it's a fair old time. I must be going to the wrong pubs cos I enjoy a good game of attempting to hit the dart board.

In terms of the survey, I was once, a few years back, one of those phoned randomly. And, from memory, they do prompt for what counts as activity and do stress it can be informal/not organised.

[JM2010]

Typical RL fans strike again!! This started as a positive thread about SL getting some media coverage and I’ve just come back on and that’s now forgotten and a few are just having a personal argument about which is the biggest sport

[Eddie]

21 minutes ago, gingerjon said:

I was trying to remember the last time I saw anyone playing in a pub and it's a fair old time. I must be going to the wrong pubs cos I enjoy a good game of attempting to hit the dart board.

In terms of the survey, I was once, a few years back, one of those phoned randomly. And, from memory, they do prompt for what counts as activity and do stress it can be informal/not organised.

I’m surprised to hear you say that because round here darts boards always seem to be in use. Maybe something to do with regional culture, like when you go to Bristol and plenty of people are playing skittles in the pub. 

[Dunbar]

31 minutes ago, unapologetic pedant said:

Who are these much less important forum members?

All those who weren’t invited to our free bar Christmas party.  It was fantastic.