A Darts Homecoming

I am now down in New Orleans, my old home, visiting family and going to a legal education conference. How could I resist bringing my darts along and wandering around to the old haunts where I learned to play darts?

Last night I decided to go to my favorite of them all, Third Base Sports Bar, on Causeway Blvd. in the New Orleans suburb of Metairie. Any dart player visiting the New Orleans area would do well to come by Third Base and catch the Saturday night luck of the draw.

After finishing my dinner I saw that it was around 8 p.m. I was running late, so I called Third Base and asked about the tournament. They were glad to take my name down and hold a place while I drove over.

When I walked into the bar, it was like stepping into a different time, ten years earlier. I saw to my delight that Third Base was still a Mecca for darts, with a half dozen steel-tip boards set up along a wall, all with DartMaster scoring machines. Pick up games were thriving. The flooring was done specially with a border at the perfect distance to substitute for an oche, and the lighting was perfect. The large room made it easy to walk around behind the dart players without bumping into anyone. Reasonably priced beer and drinks. I took a deep breath and let out a happy sigh. This was my idea of a Dart player's paradise.

I did a double-take as I glanced at the faces...almost the exact same crowd of dart enthusiasts as was there ten years ago, before Katrina ravaged the city and scattered a lot of them. Old friends, who I had missed but not been able to see in so long. Some new faces too. I smiled as I walked into the room.

I spent the next hour catching up with this great group of about two dozen throwers as we competed in two blind draw tournaments. No easy competition here! Some fine shooters were there including Scott Wollaston and his brother Jimmy. Ernie Comardelle and his brother Jason. The owner, Keith Villafranco. Mike Labat, Ronnie, Bones, and a great group of competitive players made it a real fun tournament. Before I knew it I looked at my watch and it was 2:30 a.m.

I was totally exhausted. I had woken up at 4 a.m. the previous morning and Margaret drove me to Philly airport for a long day of travel. I reluctantly said my goodbyes and headed back to get some sleep. What a good day. Six hours of darts and visiting with old friends. Does it get any better than that? Well...maybe if I had hit that double 20 out against Scott Wollaston :)