Dart League Week 7: A Perverse Advantage for a Worthy Adversary

I'm pretty sure the final score last night was 29-14, as we fell to the 6th ranked team from the Old Capitol Brewery. If it had been their usual roster, victory was possible, and perhaps even inevitable. It wasn't the usual team though. Instead, they had subbed in a new guy who was THE BEST DARTS PLAYER I HAVE EVER SEEN. EVER.

Because it was his first night, THE BEST DARTS PLAYER I HAVE EVER SEEN played with a 1 handicap (handicaps range from 3 to -3 in dart league). In several games of cricket he averaged over 6 marks per round. I can't guarantee that before last night I had ever even seen a game over 5 marks per round. I can guarantee, however, that after playing us he will be a -3 handicap against the next team he faces.

And that's what sucks. It's not that I think everyone should be handicapped so that we have a chance to win, because that's not the case. I'd even support a darts league that didn't even use handicaps.

The travesty, the grave injustice of the whole episode last night, was that THE BEST DARTS PLAYER I HAVE EVER SEEN hadn't been accurately handicapped. Thus the handicapping system gave this incredibly good player a kind of perverse advantage that he didn't need. Essentially, instead of serving to even the playing field, our players were actually handicapped against him.

For example, our top two players handicap-wise last night were Murphy at -1 and Griff at 0. This guy was miles better than the two of them (possibly combined), and yet while they got skipped a turn, he got extra darts.

But I guess that's the way the cookie crumbles whenever you're dealing with a handicap system-- it may just wind up handicapping the game itself.

Let it be known that as of this moment, Cornucopia, the Horn of Plenty is calling for a non-handicap system for the Iowa City Dart League.

Post-game facts for Nick Gregory--

My one victory for the night was in my first match, where I played horribly the entire match, had given up all hope, and then hit 8 bulls-eyes in 8 darts to steal a precious win from the jaws of defeat. Behind me, a small whimper of pain and confusion could be heard from my hapless opponent as my final dart found its mark. Small consolation, but consolation nonetheless.

Next week is St. Patty's Day. Look for Irish Pride, luck, and four leaf clovers to play a pivotal role.