"They walk among us, sit among us, sing among us. They speak perfect English, hunt in packs, down industrial quantities of Amstel just like everyone else. And yet to the trained eye, to the seasoned Ally Pally veteran, there is just something different to them. A comportment and a vibe. Perhaps the fact they speak perfect English. You can even spot a subtle distinction in the choice of fancy dress; less jockeys and 118 118 runners, more woodland animals and flag suits,"
"Slowly and by degrees, the Germans are coming. At first in small scattered groups and landing parties, then larger expeditions, and then finally the full-scale mass incursion. A battery of tour buses spills the latest recruits up the steps and into the Palace. Package excursions sell out months in advance. Around a quarter of all tickets for this year's world championship have been sold in Germany,"
German spectators have adopted darts as a major live-entertainment activity while retaining a distinct comportment, attire and vibe that sets them apart. Attendance has shifted from a traditionally working-class, male audience to a broader, more universal crowd. Package tours and coachloads of fans now travel in large numbers, with roughly a quarter of world championship tickets bought in Germany and some sessions approaching a third. The sport benefits from a seasonal niche between Christmas and New Year when other major domestic fixtures are absent, boosting television audiences and stadium atmospheres across the Professional Darts Corporation's European events.
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]