@@alexanderjames6328 Did you mean... you aren't aware that some words are spelled (or spelt) differently in different parts of the world? But I suppose in this case, Auntie Beeb would use the -ise ending, yes.
The irony. Jim Carter is the narrator of this documentary and introduces “one of the cruelest attacks on any sport” the Smith and Jones sketch. @10.15 in the sketch the caller is played by ..Jim Carter.
When the BDO were absolutely on their knees in the mid 2000's Barry Hearn approached Olly about helping them out, and making the BDO a sort of development tour for the PDC. They offered to use the PDC influence to generate more events etc, but even then, when rock bottom, Olly refused. Stubborn til the bitter end.
A large part of the attraction of darts to TV was Sid Waddell's commentary. People would tune in to listen to him as much as watch the darts. He was a huge selling point yo TV companies. Not mentioned in this doc
Credit to Ollie. The game wouldn't be what it is today without him. Unfortunately his quest for ownership of a sport destroyed him. No one owns any sport. The BDO could have continued as it was perfectly well, but now as the WDF, it is strictly amateur, which isn't a bad thing necessarily. It's still a good feeder system, but doesn't offer what it once did.
I think he just liked the amateur game. He always seemed happiest in the pubs and clubs rubbing shoulders with the amateur players and seemed to find dealing with the top stars tiring and not enjoyable. The problem was he also liked having money and status and for those things he NEEDED the top guys. I think he did well enough at keeping the BDO reasonably competitive throughout the late 90s and 2000s; a new group of players like Barney, Wolfie Adams and Ted Hankey managed to come along who were still very decent players and could still make the Lakeside feel like a big event. But when they all either defected to the PDC or retired there was nobody really coming up behind them and the quality dropped off a cliff very quickly. Shame.
the history books will show that the two dinosaurs had no business sense, no managerial abilties or darts knowledge. just right place right time. they come across pretty deranged, incompetent and bitter for the most part
Both sides were in it for nlthe money but the Crofts blind arrogance and desperate need to control the whole game could have destroyed UK darts all together. Even in these interviews hes a smug SoB... Couldnt stand the old fossil
The Croft s to a degree were control freaks….. as Ollie said they didn’t own the players and he didn’t own the game so they could do what they wanted and they did!!!!!
I could see Olly Croft's point in a way as he felt he'd been instrumental in fashioning the high profile of darts yet was being cast aside. However, he wanted to retain too much control and times change, which should have led to Croft accepting the inevitable. Having said that, I lost interest in darts many years ago as Bristow, Lowe, Wilson et al were difficult to replace. Still laugh at Mel Smith feeling he had to wear padding in that crappy sketch.
In what respect. I meant the series as a whole. The Radio one Bannister episode and my own favourite the Buck Fizz one virtually everyone was made to look stupid... In fairness the darts episode Croft came out of it looking like a sad old man but the rest of the people interviewed came across very well
@@slavaukraini1991 Fair point.The BDO did do good for the sport at the time.But the BDO was run by a very stubborn man who failed to see that the direction of travel was changing and he simply refused to embrace change which did a lot of damage to darts,nearly killed the game.Darts thankfully evolved and is now thriving. Lessons need learning so never again will the game be damaged.
I tuned into darts like many other Dutchies because of Barney and Stompe. I loved the characters back then, some almost cosplaying. But darts was not yet professional enough. I remember some used to drink beer during games and get almost pissy drunk lol. I stuck with the BDO until it was just unbareable to watch. But for a sports progress the birth of the PDC was the organic next step into development and it has been progressive. But I remember those days and hold them dear.
It was about people's livelihoods. Olly was trying to stop the breakaway players from earning a living. Darts might just be a pub pastime to most of us, but to these people it was their job.
The BDO was and still is the gold standard darts organisation. Its a shame players ran away in fear and headed to the PDC rather than take on Martin "Wolfie" Adams on the Lakeside stage.
The bottom line is that the players valued themselves more highly than perhaps they deserve to be and they managed to get funding from Sky who could pile far more cash into the sport than the BBC.
@@andrewjohnston2850i like darts but calling it the most entertaining is a stretch and a half lol. It's literally just chucking arrows at a board. Hardly gets the heart racing does it
Look at the BDO now, and look at the PDC ,,darts didn’t need Croft, but Croft needed darts and top players for his greed ,,but they worked him out and the rest is history,,,R I P BDO
