Darticles
This edition of Darticles brings you a story from Anne Kramer, A.K.A. Sleepy Kramer who wrote a response to an article in the Bulls Eye News on the PDC's take on darts in America. Anne was one of the main inspirations for me to build the idartamerica.com website and this article is very accurate and well written. If you wish to contact her please visit sleepykramer.com.
In a recent column that you published in BullsEye News, you lamented the unrewarded efforts that the PDC has put forth to grow darts in America. You commented on the ADO and all that it does, or does not do for darts in America. What you fail to realize is that for most of us Americans, you really aren’t saying anything new. More importantly, you are not saying anything that has not been said by many for many years!
I think it is great that you took the time to put your thoughts to paper and offer your thoughts out there for the world to read. You mentioned that you felt it was going to generate a lot of responses. I say good! It’s time to get people fired up and thinking. It is so easy to sit back and complain and let things continue down the path to nowhere. People need to step up, take charge and realize that if no one takes the initiative to fix it, then it’s gonna stay broke! One of my biggest pet peeves is to throw ideas at people in charge on how to try to make things better and to have them turn around and say that it’s not going to work, without them even taking the time to give the idea an effort! It’s better to have tried and failed than to have not tried at all.
It has taken me about three days to craft this response and I am sure that I could keep adding more as thoughts hit me, but for now I am going to throw this out there and lets see what sticks with the hopes that others will step up and offer up their thoughts and ideas too.
One thing that I think you fail to realize that there are a majority of people here who would like nothing more than to take the time out of their lives to create all that the PDC has done for the game in the UK. What you do not seem to understand, is the enormity of that endeavor. For instance, consider the size of America. You could fit all of Europe into the US alone and still have room to spare.
I remember those PDC early days of the WDC. Yes, I have been around the game that long. The husband was one of the original US players invited to join, but it was not a possibility for the players over here to make such a commitment monetarily to the movement that was started over there. Speaking only for us personally, there was no backing available for players in the US to be able to travel over there to consistently support those events.
As for the ADO, what is a significant point to realize is that the organization is a part of the WDF, which is closely affiliated with the BDO. Anyone with common sense after reading that will realize that it is obviously not in their best interest at all to promote anything PDC related. Take for example, our one shining moment of brightness with Larry Butler’s win of the World Matchplay. Everyone wonders why the ADO never made anything of it. Well, that is because anything done would have jeopardized relations with the WDF and BDO, which at that time, Tom and Della Fleetwood, who were the ones running the ADO would have nothing to do with. That shining moment of brightness fizzled very fast! In addition, the ADO is a not for profit organization, which totally contradicts the PDC and its efforts.
But let us fast forward to today and the moans and groans that we are hearing about how much the PDC has tried to help grow the game in America. So let me see….you bring your game, and all your established players…..and you want to come and play in our sandbox….but you want to make all the rules while playing in our sandbox. Do you not see a problem with this picture? While this may work in smaller sandboxes where the bullies can take over, it is not in the nature of the average American to just want to spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars, take time away from work and family, travel to sometimes difficult destinations, just to walk in and hand over their lunch money to the local bully. Quite simply, except for a select few, the majority is going to take their money somewhere else to get more out of it. We are a value based society with a capitalistic nature. We want more for our time, effort and money. It is not that we treat the game and all it means to us on a lower level, or maybe as some might say, as a hobby, but that we are more severely limited in our options and resources to devote to the game that we must be a little more selective in our efforts. Just because you book what you consider to be great events for a week in Vegas does not mean that many of your average Jane’s and Joe’s will be able to schedule their yearly vacations at the same time as your event so they can go. And then figure in the employers that dictate no employees can take time off during the 4th of July holiday because everyone wants time off, so it is easier to say no. I am a manager; I can understand this thought process, since it will impede the business needs of the company. Sorry, but the business needs of the company far outweigh the needs of the player or the PDC. And some of the locations! Do you have any concept of the logistical nightmare it is for players to travel to Uncasville? Do you have any idea that major locations in America that generate a lot of money from the tourists will make the costs more difficult to manage when major US holidays are involved? Seriously? Trying to book a trip to the desert, in the summer, on the 4th of July, you just increased the costs to US players by a couple hundred dollars. If you have ever researched flights out of Las Vegas on a Sunday night, you would see that the cost is sometimes double. Now look at Chicago and Atlanta. You basically took over their existing and successful tournaments and changed everything to suit the PDC and its players. Not only was the effort unsuccessful for the PDC, but now both of these events have been effectively dissolved.
There are many people out there with ideas, but do not have the means to do so. Whether you can relate to it or not, many of us Americans must work full time jobs in order to live the lives that we choose to live. There is no “living on the dole” in America. We do not have “council houses” where our pro’s can choose to live while they try to make their mark in the world of darts. If an America tried this, they would be more concerned with where their next meal came from, rather than paying $700.00 to play Phil Taylor first round in Vegas. It’s a reality here. Many are not able to just leave work for days on end to jump on a plane.
But do not get me wrong. There are many players here who would give away body parts for a chance to play in the PDC full time. These players just do not have the means or the opportunity to do so. As you well know, sponsorships are pretty limited for American players, and what has been available has been skimpy! And then compare that with the cost it takes for a US player to consistently compete on the PDC circuit in the UK. It would literally take these players to make the decision to move to the UK to play full time to be able to make their mark there. Many will say it takes sacrifice. I totally agree. If you do not believe that you can be a World Champion and make the effort to do so, then you never will be. It takes a special breed to make that choice. So far, it does not seem that there is one to do it. However, if you could find a sponsor to do so, I can give you a very long list of players that will move there tomorrow to give it one hell of a try!
Now let us move on to Barry Hearn and all he has done to make the PDC what it is today. Just his connections for television and marketing alone would make any businessperson drool with envy. Is there a Barry Hearn in America? That would be awesome, but I doubt it. There are also the marketing connections that Mr. Hearn has that do not really seem to work here in America. For example, there is no online gambling allowed. The biggest sponsors for the PDC have been online gaming sites, which throw a huge chink in America’s thoughts about it. As someone that has approached American based companies for player sponsorship, I can tell you first hand that the biggest feedback I get is that most American based companies are not willing to associate their name and products to something that has the stigma of such an unhealthy lifestyle. It is a fact of life here. While pubs and darts are a way of life in England, and darts has been accepted as a sport, the impression in America is a negative stigma that is a very hard fought battle to overcome by the masses of people who do their best to promote the game.
There are so many people out there that do everything they can to promote the game as well…..like me. And we take offense that you think the world of darts in America revolves around the ADO and all that it does not do for the promotion of the game. There are many of us out here that will do anything and everything within our means to give all we can to make the game better for all involved. I, for one, would love nothing more than the sit and have a chat with Barry Hearn and pick his brain for marketing ideas, as I am sure many others would as well.
So as a small time promoter of the game compared to the PDC’s overall scheme of things, I offer you this. Call us, email us, and talk to us. Don’t dump all of us in with the ADO. We have thoughts, ideas and dreams. With the right feedback, and a little bit of direction, we quite possibly could be on the brink of developing WDC North America….which could eventually turn itself into PDC North America. Just because you are talking to some people, does not mean you are talking to the right people and does not mean that you are getting the feedback from the heart of the game in America or many of it's players.
Of course it will take time, effort, dedication, and money. The WDC in its initial stages took a lot of that, and so will the efforts in America. Just because you tried and failed, does not mean the effort itself is doomed to failure, it just means you had the wrong game plan. While we appreciate you letting our players come over and play in your sandbox, please note that we are not kicking you out of our sandbox, we just want to be able to develop our own sandbox and the game that is to be played, along with the rules, and create our own superstars for this sandbox before we will be ready to invite other superstars over to play in it.
So now let’s talk ideas. There is no sense crying over spilt milk. Let’s clean the mess up and move on. Obviously, we all wish we knew the golden secret to creating a successful dart promotion endeavor in America. There are fledgling ideas out there and people are trying. These people could probably benefit from your expertise and advice. And that does not cost the PDC anything. You stated that we should not consider spending the money on the pro game, but developing the whole game. This is exactly my point. We need to develop a PDC North America. Maybe a series of long format Players Championships located in major cities all over the US with a seeding system for the North American players. Locations that will be easy to get to and cost effective. Events held on weekends where players can fly in Friday night and fly out Sunday night. Payouts that will entice many of the top players to attend regularly. Perhaps an Order of Merit reward with an offer for the top 2 players invited to the World Championships, or something of that nature, so that the players will want to fight for that top prize.
Let’s crunch some numbers with some random examples. Suppose the PDC uses their connections and finds sponsors to put together $200,000.00 in prize money for PDC North America to stage 10 weekends of Players Championships with a 10k payout on Saturday and a 10k payout on Sunday and the payout structure is the same as PDC Player’s Championships. Membership fee for PDC North America players is $250 per year. 500 members equals $125k that you have now been able to offer as a return of investment to the sponsors for their initial investment. Entry fees will be $100 for Saturday and $100 for Sunday. 150 players per event equals $15k per event to cover your payout and operating costs, even though your payouts have already been initially covered by your sponsors. Now I know the entry fees may seem low to you, but you also must remember that US players do not have the sponsors that many of the UK players do. And US players must most times travel further and incur more costs than the players in the UK do. So now you need the incentive to get the players to want to travel to each and every one of these events. You do that with establishing a PDC North America Order of Merit. Let’s just say for example, the top 2 players will receive invites to the World Championships, and maybe player 3 and 4 receive invites to the Grand Slam, and maybe 4-8 are invited to the UK Open the following year, or something such as that. I am just throwing ideas out there. And most of all, let’s not schedule any of these weekends around major US holidays.
We start in Seattle and then work our way down to Los Angeles, next stop is Las Vegas and then we hop on over to Denver. Houston or Dallas is next and then jumps up to St. Louis, and then Chicago, then over to Charlotte or Atlanta, then cruise on up to Philadelphia and finish in Boston. The events located in all major US cities which happen to be easier to fly in and out of. Venues to be determined, but preferably at larger hotels that have the facilities to accommodate the size of the event and that are in close proximity to the airports.
So I ask you rather than lament in our magazine, think man think! What is good for the goose may not always be good for the gander. There is something out there. Are you willing to take the time to try to find it? Or are you going to just give up? One of the all time classic movie lines, “if you build it, they will come”. There is the key….it needs to be built first before it can be successful. Just like the PDC was built. It did not happen overnight. You cannot continue to come to America and say “here is something for you, now show up”.
So are you ready to help build? Are you ready to dangle the carrot?
I think it is great that you took the time to put your thoughts to paper and offer your thoughts out there for the world to read. You mentioned that you felt it was going to generate a lot of responses. I say good! It’s time to get people fired up and thinking. It is so easy to sit back and complain and let things continue down the path to nowhere. People need to step up, take charge and realize that if no one takes the initiative to fix it, then it’s gonna stay broke! One of my biggest pet peeves is to throw ideas at people in charge on how to try to make things better and to have them turn around and say that it’s not going to work, without them even taking the time to give the idea an effort! It’s better to have tried and failed than to have not tried at all.
It has taken me about three days to craft this response and I am sure that I could keep adding more as thoughts hit me, but for now I am going to throw this out there and lets see what sticks with the hopes that others will step up and offer up their thoughts and ideas too.
One thing that I think you fail to realize that there are a majority of people here who would like nothing more than to take the time out of their lives to create all that the PDC has done for the game in the UK. What you do not seem to understand, is the enormity of that endeavor. For instance, consider the size of America. You could fit all of Europe into the US alone and still have room to spare.
I remember those PDC early days of the WDC. Yes, I have been around the game that long. The husband was one of the original US players invited to join, but it was not a possibility for the players over here to make such a commitment monetarily to the movement that was started over there. Speaking only for us personally, there was no backing available for players in the US to be able to travel over there to consistently support those events.
As for the ADO, what is a significant point to realize is that the organization is a part of the WDF, which is closely affiliated with the BDO. Anyone with common sense after reading that will realize that it is obviously not in their best interest at all to promote anything PDC related. Take for example, our one shining moment of brightness with Larry Butler’s win of the World Matchplay. Everyone wonders why the ADO never made anything of it. Well, that is because anything done would have jeopardized relations with the WDF and BDO, which at that time, Tom and Della Fleetwood, who were the ones running the ADO would have nothing to do with. That shining moment of brightness fizzled very fast! In addition, the ADO is a not for profit organization, which totally contradicts the PDC and its efforts.
But let us fast forward to today and the moans and groans that we are hearing about how much the PDC has tried to help grow the game in America. So let me see….you bring your game, and all your established players…..and you want to come and play in our sandbox….but you want to make all the rules while playing in our sandbox. Do you not see a problem with this picture? While this may work in smaller sandboxes where the bullies can take over, it is not in the nature of the average American to just want to spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars, take time away from work and family, travel to sometimes difficult destinations, just to walk in and hand over their lunch money to the local bully. Quite simply, except for a select few, the majority is going to take their money somewhere else to get more out of it. We are a value based society with a capitalistic nature. We want more for our time, effort and money. It is not that we treat the game and all it means to us on a lower level, or maybe as some might say, as a hobby, but that we are more severely limited in our options and resources to devote to the game that we must be a little more selective in our efforts. Just because you book what you consider to be great events for a week in Vegas does not mean that many of your average Jane’s and Joe’s will be able to schedule their yearly vacations at the same time as your event so they can go. And then figure in the employers that dictate no employees can take time off during the 4th of July holiday because everyone wants time off, so it is easier to say no. I am a manager; I can understand this thought process, since it will impede the business needs of the company. Sorry, but the business needs of the company far outweigh the needs of the player or the PDC. And some of the locations! Do you have any concept of the logistical nightmare it is for players to travel to Uncasville? Do you have any idea that major locations in America that generate a lot of money from the tourists will make the costs more difficult to manage when major US holidays are involved? Seriously? Trying to book a trip to the desert, in the summer, on the 4th of July, you just increased the costs to US players by a couple hundred dollars. If you have ever researched flights out of Las Vegas on a Sunday night, you would see that the cost is sometimes double. Now look at Chicago and Atlanta. You basically took over their existing and successful tournaments and changed everything to suit the PDC and its players. Not only was the effort unsuccessful for the PDC, but now both of these events have been effectively dissolved.
There are many people out there with ideas, but do not have the means to do so. Whether you can relate to it or not, many of us Americans must work full time jobs in order to live the lives that we choose to live. There is no “living on the dole” in America. We do not have “council houses” where our pro’s can choose to live while they try to make their mark in the world of darts. If an America tried this, they would be more concerned with where their next meal came from, rather than paying $700.00 to play Phil Taylor first round in Vegas. It’s a reality here. Many are not able to just leave work for days on end to jump on a plane.
But do not get me wrong. There are many players here who would give away body parts for a chance to play in the PDC full time. These players just do not have the means or the opportunity to do so. As you well know, sponsorships are pretty limited for American players, and what has been available has been skimpy! And then compare that with the cost it takes for a US player to consistently compete on the PDC circuit in the UK. It would literally take these players to make the decision to move to the UK to play full time to be able to make their mark there. Many will say it takes sacrifice. I totally agree. If you do not believe that you can be a World Champion and make the effort to do so, then you never will be. It takes a special breed to make that choice. So far, it does not seem that there is one to do it. However, if you could find a sponsor to do so, I can give you a very long list of players that will move there tomorrow to give it one hell of a try!
Now let us move on to Barry Hearn and all he has done to make the PDC what it is today. Just his connections for television and marketing alone would make any businessperson drool with envy. Is there a Barry Hearn in America? That would be awesome, but I doubt it. There are also the marketing connections that Mr. Hearn has that do not really seem to work here in America. For example, there is no online gambling allowed. The biggest sponsors for the PDC have been online gaming sites, which throw a huge chink in America’s thoughts about it. As someone that has approached American based companies for player sponsorship, I can tell you first hand that the biggest feedback I get is that most American based companies are not willing to associate their name and products to something that has the stigma of such an unhealthy lifestyle. It is a fact of life here. While pubs and darts are a way of life in England, and darts has been accepted as a sport, the impression in America is a negative stigma that is a very hard fought battle to overcome by the masses of people who do their best to promote the game.
There are so many people out there that do everything they can to promote the game as well…..like me. And we take offense that you think the world of darts in America revolves around the ADO and all that it does not do for the promotion of the game. There are many of us out here that will do anything and everything within our means to give all we can to make the game better for all involved. I, for one, would love nothing more than the sit and have a chat with Barry Hearn and pick his brain for marketing ideas, as I am sure many others would as well.
So as a small time promoter of the game compared to the PDC’s overall scheme of things, I offer you this. Call us, email us, and talk to us. Don’t dump all of us in with the ADO. We have thoughts, ideas and dreams. With the right feedback, and a little bit of direction, we quite possibly could be on the brink of developing WDC North America….which could eventually turn itself into PDC North America. Just because you are talking to some people, does not mean you are talking to the right people and does not mean that you are getting the feedback from the heart of the game in America or many of it's players.
Of course it will take time, effort, dedication, and money. The WDC in its initial stages took a lot of that, and so will the efforts in America. Just because you tried and failed, does not mean the effort itself is doomed to failure, it just means you had the wrong game plan. While we appreciate you letting our players come over and play in your sandbox, please note that we are not kicking you out of our sandbox, we just want to be able to develop our own sandbox and the game that is to be played, along with the rules, and create our own superstars for this sandbox before we will be ready to invite other superstars over to play in it.
So now let’s talk ideas. There is no sense crying over spilt milk. Let’s clean the mess up and move on. Obviously, we all wish we knew the golden secret to creating a successful dart promotion endeavor in America. There are fledgling ideas out there and people are trying. These people could probably benefit from your expertise and advice. And that does not cost the PDC anything. You stated that we should not consider spending the money on the pro game, but developing the whole game. This is exactly my point. We need to develop a PDC North America. Maybe a series of long format Players Championships located in major cities all over the US with a seeding system for the North American players. Locations that will be easy to get to and cost effective. Events held on weekends where players can fly in Friday night and fly out Sunday night. Payouts that will entice many of the top players to attend regularly. Perhaps an Order of Merit reward with an offer for the top 2 players invited to the World Championships, or something of that nature, so that the players will want to fight for that top prize.
Let’s crunch some numbers with some random examples. Suppose the PDC uses their connections and finds sponsors to put together $200,000.00 in prize money for PDC North America to stage 10 weekends of Players Championships with a 10k payout on Saturday and a 10k payout on Sunday and the payout structure is the same as PDC Player’s Championships. Membership fee for PDC North America players is $250 per year. 500 members equals $125k that you have now been able to offer as a return of investment to the sponsors for their initial investment. Entry fees will be $100 for Saturday and $100 for Sunday. 150 players per event equals $15k per event to cover your payout and operating costs, even though your payouts have already been initially covered by your sponsors. Now I know the entry fees may seem low to you, but you also must remember that US players do not have the sponsors that many of the UK players do. And US players must most times travel further and incur more costs than the players in the UK do. So now you need the incentive to get the players to want to travel to each and every one of these events. You do that with establishing a PDC North America Order of Merit. Let’s just say for example, the top 2 players will receive invites to the World Championships, and maybe player 3 and 4 receive invites to the Grand Slam, and maybe 4-8 are invited to the UK Open the following year, or something such as that. I am just throwing ideas out there. And most of all, let’s not schedule any of these weekends around major US holidays.
We start in Seattle and then work our way down to Los Angeles, next stop is Las Vegas and then we hop on over to Denver. Houston or Dallas is next and then jumps up to St. Louis, and then Chicago, then over to Charlotte or Atlanta, then cruise on up to Philadelphia and finish in Boston. The events located in all major US cities which happen to be easier to fly in and out of. Venues to be determined, but preferably at larger hotels that have the facilities to accommodate the size of the event and that are in close proximity to the airports.
So I ask you rather than lament in our magazine, think man think! What is good for the goose may not always be good for the gander. There is something out there. Are you willing to take the time to try to find it? Or are you going to just give up? One of the all time classic movie lines, “if you build it, they will come”. There is the key….it needs to be built first before it can be successful. Just like the PDC was built. It did not happen overnight. You cannot continue to come to America and say “here is something for you, now show up”.
So are you ready to help build? Are you ready to dangle the carrot?
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