Thursday, May 28, 2009
\nColumn 358
\nCOOOOOOOOOP XXVIII<\/b><\/p>\n
I am about to frickin\u2019 depart for the BEST frickin\u2019 darts tournament in the world and I don\u2019t mind tellin\u2019 ya that I can barely frickin\u2019 wait!<\/p>\n
I haven\u2019t missed Chuck and Stick\u2019s Chicken COOP Open since 2006 when I first took Mike Edwards up on his invitation to venture into the Ozarks to have a go against some of the good old boys. Thinking Deliverance<\/i>, I had for years hesitated to accept Edward\u2019s offer. Seriously, there is one thing I have no interest whatsoever in experiencing\u2026<\/p>\n
But finally I made the great trek to Missouri \u2013 and I have never looked back. I had the time of my life and I\u2019m looking forward to more of the same in just a few days.<\/p>\n
The COOP is (modestly) billed as the \u201clargest and greatest\u201d outdoor tournament in the world. It\u2019s more than that, much more. For anyone who loves the game \u2013 and particularly for anybody who has played for years and lost sight of how it feels<\/i> to throw with friends for the simple joy<\/i> of it \u2013 the COOP is the only<\/i> place to be the first weekend of every June.<\/p>\n
Just a bit of background…<\/p>\n
It was nearly three decades ago that Chuck Gideon and Joe \u201cStick\u201d Stacy invited a few friends over for a barbeque and to throw some darts at a board nailed to the side of a chicken coop in Gideon\u2019s back yard. The next year they did it again, and then again\u2026<\/p>\n
Word spread and the cookout evolved into a small event, quickly outgrowing the little barn. So they moved the event to Noel, a small town cut into the historic bluffs along the Elk River just a few miles away.<\/p>\n
This is where the tournament is held today \u2013 under a gigantic tent nestled under the towering pines and adjacent to the meandering river at the Wayside Campground near the junction of highway\u2019s 59 and 90. These days more than 1,000 darters, and their families, make the journey. And they have a fantastic time!<\/p>\n
This is because the COOP is not just a darts tournament \u2013 it\u2019s far, far more than that. It\u2019s a campout, barbeque and fish fry, family vacation, golf scramble, canoe trip, fireworks show, charity auction and a whole lot more rolled into one. There\u2019s even an Easter egg-like flight hunt for the kids.<\/p>\n
Throughout it all, amidst scores of tents, camper vans and smoldering campfires, literally non-stop for four days and three nights, are a series of back-to-back-to-back-to-back blind draw darts events. For nearly 96 hours straight they never<\/i> stop.<\/p>\n
In just days it will be more of the same…<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s event begins at 7:00 pm on Thursday, June 4 with what\u2019s called the Early Bird Blind Draw which is generally contested sober. It\u2019s followed by the first All Night\u2019er which is generally not played sober, certainly not by the \u201cO\u2019Duds\u201d from the Ponca City group.<\/p>\n
There are draws all day Friday and all night Friday.<\/p>\n
Saturday morning is the annual Golf Scramble at Noel Golf Course which I hope will be won by former golf professional, Dan Zimmerman, now a COOP regular.<\/p>\n
This is my wish because also Saturday morning is the Youth-Adult Blind Draw \u2013 an event I actually won a couple of years ago with my partner, Keke \u2013 and I won\u2019t have a chance in hell if Zimmerman isn\u2019t on the links.<\/p>\n
Draws continue all day and night Saturday pausing only for a chicken wings cook-off (which I suspect will be won by the \u201cO\u2019Duds\u201d if they can still stand), a country band, and a spectacular fireworks display.<\/p>\n
Sunday is more of the same but also includes the annual Charity Auction, just another reason among so many why this family event is so special.<\/p>\n
I arrive early \u2013 on Wednesday afternoon. My wife is joining me for the first time and we\u2019re staying at Arthur Murray\u2019s Motel, just across from the campground. There ain\u2019t no way we\u2019re sleeping with bugs! Plus, I need to rest up before the good times begin!<\/p>\n
By midday Thursday I will be searching for Jimmy \u201cScooby\u201d Boone for a bit of \u201c3 Strikes\u201d \u2013 so Scooby, you best bring a lot of cash. I\u2019m done tired of getting\u2019 beat, you frickin\u2019 shrimp.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ll be huntin\u2019 down Matt Keller and his purty wife, Heather, who I have my fingers crossed will be wearin\u2019 a bikini.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ll be findin\u2019 Mike Keller and his wife, and Wally and his babe and the Murphys \u2013 because their campsite is great, they have comfy lawn chairs, the beer flows, and Wally is still in serious need of convincing that double sixteen is a better percentage shot than double fifteen.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ll be sure<\/i> to locate Bob Riederer, partly because he\u2019s probably also avoiding bugs and also because we need to figure out a way to rig one of the draws so we can partner and lose in the first round.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ll absolutely be keepin\u2019 a lookout for Bethany Norwood and Olivia Givens, who usually run the charity dartboard with the little stars that I can\u2019t hit. They were little girls when I first met \u2018em but they\u2019re eye-poppin\u2019 wimmenfolk now!<\/p>\n
I\u2019ll be trackin\u2019 down the Ponca City group and all the O\u2019Duds BIG TIME because they have serious good meat goin\u2019 on.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ll be hopin\u2019 to see my webmaster, Kelly \u201cRags\u201d Ragland who is tentatively planning to drive up from Texas with friends to check out the tournament for the first time.<\/p>\n
Of course, I\u2019ll be certain to find Mike and Tammy Edwards, Pat and Robin Law, Mike Hensley, and Jim Norwood \u2013 who organize the tournament. Were it not for the efforts of these fine people (and Chuck Gideon, who I hope will stop by) I would be mowing my lawn this weekend.<\/p>\n
But what I definitely WON\u2019T BE DOING<\/span> is going anywhere near Johnny Noe. This man is DANGEROUS! If you have any doubt whatsoever about the accuracy of this statement (or want to learn a little more about COOP goings-on, click this link, but do so at your own risk): Dartoid’s World #269<\/a>.<\/p>\n