This is the Guardian.
Today.
From the pub to the palace, how darts got massive.
So it is a rather drizzly December evening and I'm standing outside Alexandra palace in North London, which in recent years has become the home of darts the uk.
And even just standing outside the venue, there are incredible scenes.
Walking up from the train station, we.
Were passed by a pack of zebras.
There was a bunch of minions, all sorts.
All human life is here and this.
Is my first time at the darts.
And I'm not quite sure what chaos will await me inside these hallowed halls.
But I'm really, I really want to understand what is it about darts that has captured the nation's heart, the world's heart?
In fact.
Walking into the grand hall of Altar, Alexandra palace with the world championships in full flow is an assault on all of the senses.
The air smells like a brewery and everyone is singing themselves hoarse.
It's part Oktoberfest, part stag and Hendo.
With more than 3,000 people, most of them in fancy dress, going nuts.
For.
The newcomer, there is a lot to learn.
How on earth did the players get their nicknames?