The festive period in the UK is all about top football fixtures and darts, as both sports take over the winter programming throughout December.
Because so many football fans love the darts it only makes sense that darts players feel the same way about certain football clubs. Here we take a look at which elite level darts pros are huge fans of other sports, as well as some of the reasons for their allegiances to certain clubs and teams.
Wayne Mardle – Tottenham Hotspur
We start off with an ex-player who is now the unofficial voice of the sport, due to his role as a pundit and commentator on Sky Sports. Mardle was always known for falling short in the PDC World Championships as nerves got the better of him at the semi-final stages. It therefore makes a lot of sense that he enjoys supporting fellow underachievers, Spurs. Unfortunately for Mardle, whereas Spurs can just blame their manager for bad results, he had nowhere to hide after his failures, and so quickly retreated to the safety of the commentary booth.
Adrian Lewis – Stoke City
The man known as Jackpot won the PDC World Championships back-to-back in 2011 and 2012 and since then has yoyoed up and down the world rankings, to now usually be seen as a betting outsider at most major tour events, be they in Canada, Europe, or on home soil. He comes from a long line of great darts players from Stoke, who rather than abandoning their hometown club for the glitz and glamour of say a Man Utd or Chelsea, stick around to show their support. Just like Lewis, Stoke City are battling against tough odds themselves, as they attempt to get back into the Premier League big time.
John Part – Toronto Maple Leafs
We couldn’t just have included players from the UK on this list. After all, there are a whole host of nationalities that make up the PDC World Championship odds lines. To that end we thought it worth mentioning that John Part is a former BDO and PDC world champ who likes to stick with his hometown team, except they play on ice rather than grass.
The Maple Leafs’ odds appear regularly on the best Canadian sports betting sites, and Part along with his fellow Torontonians back them all the way, even when they are struggling against the odds in the hyper competitive NHL. Who’s to say that Part won’t one day find himself commentating on the odd game of football, such are his skills in the commentary booth, having done lots of work calling darts for both the BBC and then Sky Sports.
Michael van Gerwen – PSV
Another famous player from outside the UK is Michael “The Green Machine” van Gerwen, who when he isn’t trying to add to his collection of world titles is back home in the Netherlands supporting his local club, PSV.
The Dutch club have always seen Van Gerwen as something of a VIP and have allowed him to parade the pitch with his world title trophy on multiple occasions. PSV fans even mimic the chant that gets sung at Alexandra Palace especially for the bald sharpshooter.
Dave Chisnall – Liverpool
Merseyside is another hotbed of darting talent and Dave Chisnall has been leading the city’s charge for a number of years now. He is a Red rather than a Blue, and even got a behind the scenes tour of Anfield in 2017 while making an appearance on LFCTV. Maybe one day he can emulate Van Gerwen and parade the world championship trophy on Anfield’s hallowed turf.