Last weekend I finished reading a book written by Keith Lee Morris called "The Dart League King." How could I resist a book with a title like that? In September Dartoid did a
good review of the book. I will leave the
literary reviews to the literary reviewers, and focus on one narrow question: How well did Morris capture the feel of a dart league night? My readers from way back know that a lot of my early posts were weekly accounts of league matches, so I find that particularly interesting.
Morris quickly caught my interest in the first fifteen pages by describing the buildup to league night. The team captain, Russel, has conversations in advance with his friend about matchups for a big league night. Anyone who has filled out a roster for a league match knows what I am talking about...all the little distracting anxieties about who you should play where to maximize your team's chances of winning.
I also enjoyed Morris' description of the dart bar in question, the 321 club, and how the players interact with the setting and each other. There is live music at the bar that tends to distract the dart players, and they complain about it. That amused me, because every dart bar has something like that, and the acquired ability to tolerate it is something of a home field advantage. At the Corner Bar in Elizabeth, there was a loud buzzer that went off any time someone walked into the adjacent liquor store...usually when you were lining up that shot for a game-winning double!
Then Morris describes how dart players sometimes try to reach a "zone" where they feel loose but not too much so, usually involving a certain number of beers, drinks, etc. One of the characters describes how he looks forward to the Thursday night league match, but dreads going to work the following Friday morning after a night out. Very authentic.
The players from the opposing teams inevitably size each other up while warming up, but at the same time there is a loose cameraderie. There is a bit of trash talking but it is good natured. I also found that authentic and he did a good job of creating the feel of it.
I particularly liked it when Morris reached into the heads of the players. One of the top players, Russel, has a case of the nerves and Morris describes it as follows: "it was as if his motor memory had suddenly been erased...and so his heart struck up against his chest like a little hammer and his fingers pulsed strangely...Russel missed and missed and missed." In my opinion, he did a good job of describing a character who has let nerves get the best of him. Haven't we all seen that!
Morris also does a great job of examining the pressure of a game winning shot. It's not always so easy to hit that single bull with your last dart when you have a bar full of people looking at you, the room goes suddenly silent, and there is a good looking woman in a short skirt in your peripheral vision.
Morris obviously knows the game and I was not surprised to learn that he plays darts. His descriptions of the games played and strategies as they progress reflected that knowledge. He weaves some interesting tales and characters around a dart league night, and I recommend his book to all adult dart players. This one is not appropriate for the young due to frequent profanity and some violence. That being said, the profanity and violence are not gratuitous. They fit the story and the characters. Until next time, good darts!
