I'm fortunate enough to have attended quite a few big sporting events over the years. But this time next week I shall be in my seat (and occasionally jumping out if it) at a very different live sporting occasion. Yes, I'll be joining more than 11,000 loons at First Direct Arena in Leeds for round seven of the 2014 Premier League Darts.
I'm watching round six in Nottingham, live on Sky Sports, at this very moment it's shaping up to be almost as exciting as last week in Exeter.
I've become a massive fan of what many ill-informed individuals regard as a "joke sport." But they're wrong.
The injection of huge amounts of TV and sponsorship money have made it a very lucrative - and hence competitive - past time over recent years. And on stage disagreements between the players are now increasingly common place.
In fact, this was 16-time world champion Phil "The Power" Taylor going at it with the current king of arrows, "Mighty" Michael van Gerwen, in Glasgow recently.
Some friends have asked me if it's the free flowing beer, the players' cheesy walk-on music and the scantily clad ladies who wobble in unison with them as they roll towards the stage which are the true reasons why I want to go along.
In fact, this was 16-time world champion Phil "The Power" Taylor going at it with the current king of arrows, "Mighty" Michael van Gerwen, in Glasgow recently.
Some friends have asked me if it's the free flowing beer, the players' cheesy walk-on music and the scantily clad ladies who wobble in unison with them as they roll towards the stage which are the true reasons why I want to go along.
And I say: "No! Not really!"
It's the chance to see these incredibly hungry (and thirsty) warriors do battle. Their precision. Their ease of touch. Their collective mathematical genius. And their ability to land after a celebratory jump whilst everything above their belt line continues to travel upwards.
The fact that I'll be so far away from the board that I'll not see an actual dart thrown is but a minor detail.
It should be a laugh. I just hope I can remember enough to tell you something about it.
