POWER CUTS TO POWER SURGE
How perfect Taylor electrified Wembley
IT was delayed 24 hours by a national grid meltdown – but then came the real Power surge.
And after decorating his Premier League play-off final triumph with twin nine-darters, fans were swaying down Wembley Way chanting Phil Taylor’s name.
Which was a remarkable feat when 88,000 football fans had been watching England beat Mexico in their World Cup send-off next door.
Ten years ago this weekend, Taylor made history by unfurling the only pair of perfect legs in the same darts match on TV.
He pocketed £125,000 for the tournament win, but his only bonus for the nine-darters (above) against James Wade was a bottle of scotch from the sponsors.
And as England’s footballers set off for South Africa 2010, the only refrain around chucking-out time at Wembley Park underground station was about walking in a Taylor wonderland.
“It’s a pat on the back, fantastic. I’d never heard that before,” said Taylor, who turns 60 in August. “Barry Hearn used to tell me, ‘You don’t realise how famous you are.’ I was runner-up in the BBC Sports Personality vote that year, and I think those nine-darters were probably the biggest single factor.
“It’s a good job I came up with the goods because James played fantastic and I only beat him 10-8. Those ninedarters made the difference.”
Taylor and Wade were forced to wait a day to play the final, as a massive power cut saw 8,000 ticket holders locked out of Wembley Arena.
Remarkably, 3,000 fans came back the following night, despite the rival attraction at Wembley Stadium – including actor Stephen Fry, who passed up an engagement with Prince Charles to keep a Sky Sports commentary date.
When Taylor completed his second nine-darter, Fry said he felt like “a pig in Chardonnay”.
The 16-times world champion has auctioned most of his memorabilia for charity, but wishes he had kept the golden arrows from Wembley in 2010.
“I didn’t realise what I’d done at the time,” he said. “But the following morning a bus driver called out, ‘Nine darters! Nice one, Phil.’
“I would have hopped on and hitched a ride down to the station, but I didn’t have any change.”