Quote: ShortArse "we have to be very careful about the 'success' of darts.
despite the size of winning the world championship, there is very little money in the game, and therefore very few full time pros.
darts has been able to increase its profile enormously (although lets wait and see what happens when Taylor retires), but without putting much money into the pot to support full time pros.
RL need a business plan which tales it well above what darts has achieved. And to put it into perspective - if you went onto the street in May and asked the average punter to name a darts player other than Phil Taylor, what do you think the response would be ? let alone ask them to name one under 40 !
Darts is a game still driven by 2 competing organisations, very few full time pro's, good viewing figures for 2 weeks a year and mostly filled with amateurs. That sounds to me like exactly where RL is going, rather than where we need to be aiming.'"
Darts has come on a hell of a long way and now isn't just about a World Championships for 2 weeks at the end of the year.
The Premier League darts season runs for 4 months at the start of the year and although only showcases the worlds 8 best players, has a lot of coverage and interest. Also there is the UK Open held in Bolton again with substantial prize money.
I don't know if you have missed watching Darts for the past 5 years because a lot of what you have said isn't true for the sport nowadays.
