tellhimfred.com

So, those of you that know me probably know that I have a bit of an unhealthy obsession with darts. I’ve played in traveling leagues before, and am now playing in an in-house dart league. In my first season in the in-house league my team was dead last. We never won a game.

This season I was on a much better team. We started off slowly, but by the end of the season made it to second place. The first place team was the same team that won the previous season and was ahead of us by over 10 points.

Last night was the championship. On the line: a jacket.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. “A jacket? Why’s that a big deal?” Well, my friend, would you say the same thing to Tiger Woods? “Hey Tiger, what’s the big deal with having a Masters jacket?” And it’s even sweeter when you factor in the sweetness that is a 2008 Summer Dart League Champion jacket with your name embroidered on the sleeve.

So when we found out we’d be playing in the championship last week, I decided I’d try to up my game. I’d practice every day. I devised an aggressive training regime: First, I’d hit every double on the board, helping me enhance my 301 skills. Then, I’d hit every triple on the board. Finally, I’d play a game of cricket against myself, trying to get as many points as possible. In addition, I had a couple of sparring partners to keep me on my toes.

After a week’s worth of intense dart training, it was finally time.

Our team won our first 601 game decisively. The format: 3 players per team, best 2 out of 3. Our team won 2 games in a row. Whoa.

I played in the second game and was the third shooter. My two teammates couldn’t double in before me, while our opponent doubled in immediately. I doubled in on my first dart, but we were already far behind. We lost. Twice.

What happened next was a disheartening array of losses. What started as a 1-0 lead was now a 3-1 deficit. But we started to come back. We were down 5-4 when it was my turn to play an individual cricket match. If I lost, we’d lose the entire game. If I won, we’d have one more to play for the championship (a team needs 6 points to win).

I’d love to go into detail about my games, but I won’t. I’ll just say this: I won two games in a row.

It all came down to our last shooter vs. one of our opponent’s best. She won the first game, and we were absolutely shocked how well she shot. She’s a good player, but this was just incredible. One more game and we’d be the champions.

She lost her second game.

Okay, all tied up.

She doubles in and gets a decent lead. It’s down to her last dart and his last dart. Whoever can double out first wins it all. They battle back and forth for what must have been 10 minutes, and, as luck has it, he wins.

One dart away. One dart.

I should be happy that we came in second place. I mean, coming from a team that never won, I should be satisfied with the season we had. Instead, I sit here in stunned disbelief, constantly replaying each game over in my head wondering what we could have done differently to win.

It’s an in-house dart league. I get it. It’s no big deal.

But man that’s a sweet jacket.