He may have won this one, but my date with Barney lived up to every expectation. I hit no maximums, and had no shots at a double, yet I still couldn’t be happier with how it went. Here’s how the last few days have unfolded.
Please welcome to the stage...
The sound engineer strikes the play button on Survivor’s Eye of the Tiger; two hundred and fifty people jump from their chairs and give a justified standing ovation to the towering figure of one Mr. Raymond Van Barneveld. The one and only was here. The battle lines were drawn, his arrows sharpened and sweatbands at the ready. Oh it was on.
Before now, the nerves were fine, just fine. Having spent the previous Friday with Paul and Andy from the Darts Performance Centre at the Belfast Darts Academy (A full blog will follow on this session), I was happy with my throw. Well, when I say happy...
‘Don’t be nervous, just go and enjoy it!’
In the final days leading up to the game, the feeling of worry was certainly overshadowing my level of excitement about taking to the stage. With my family and friends all coming to cheer me on, the stakes were fairly high. They were all aware of my goal, and this was the first time I was throwing in front of them.
Everyone kept saying ‘Just enjoy it’, ‘It will be an experience of a life time’; ‘don’t let the nerves get to you’. Of course, all sound advice for anyone who doesn’t throw. But that little voice in my head piped up with the only piece of advice I could hear:
“You’re going to throw 26, EVERY TIME YOU VISIT THE BOARD”.
Paul Mulreid Photography 089-4186574
Time to go to Work
I have said in previous posts that this game wasn’t about beating Barney, but just to stick with him in the leg and not make a show of myself. I want to become a pro, so one day I want a date with the likes of this Dutch man on a regular basis. So I went down to the club two hours early to warm up, and start focussing on the task in hand.
The nerves started to relax a little when I met up with the rest of the throwers. It was as if we were a little army preparing for the fight of our lives, except a couple of us exchanged a soldier suit for a Wayne Mardle shirt, with another pulling on a Holland soccer jersey in tribute.
With the crowd beginning to fill up, we took to our seats. I couldn’t sit down of course, pacing nervously while tensely gripping my darts in anticipation. As he began to pick his way through the batting order, I was suddenly up next. I hear my name called on the microphone, and as I stride towards the stage, I notice there is a smile on my face, one Ronnie Baxter would be proud of.
Paul Mulreid Photography 089-4186574
Game On
So I am up on stage, and we are throwing a few at the board. I kept telling myself, just stick to the pre-throw routine. My hands were visibly shaking. I was struggling to focus on the treble. I was just about to ask the man himself for the lend of his sweat band when, we were off:
Me Barney
(45) 456 461 (40)
(100) 356 340 (121)
(45) 311 281 (60)
(45) 266 227 (54)
(23) 243 142 (85)
(40) 203 77 (65)
(60) 143 20 (57)
(45) 98 Double 10, 2nd Dart
Paul Mulreid Photography 089-4186574
So as you can see, there were no heroic darts in this leg. Apart from my tonne, I scored 4x 45’s which could and should have been at least 60’s, with the 5 coming on the third dart on three visits.
I won’t make excuses, but I will remain positive. If I am honest, the nerves didn’t sink in until I hit the tonne. Now I suddenly felt a pile of pressure. I had gone from being a goalkeeper in a penalty shootout where no one expects you to save it, to being the striker who should convert. Following up this tonne with anything worth talking about proved too difficult as the legend took out his double 10.
Barney signed my score sheet and as I made my way off stage there was a little part of me that felt I could have won that leg. And that is the most encouraging part of this whole experience. Because this proved something, it wasn’t the climax of this journey, but merely the beginning. Thanks for reading, and as always your feedback is always welcomed.
Cheers,
A
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