Christmas around the Sporting World
By Ryan Brolly
As the year draws to a close sports fans across the world look forward to the most stacked and congested period of the year.
As Christmas day ends the United States comes alive with the NBA holding their annual Christmas Day game. December 26th is enjoyed as ‘Sporting Christmas’ with a traditional full day of English Premier League football. This day of sporting madness is seen closer to home as the Irish League also play a full gameweek on Boxing Day. Alongside these sports there is a day filled with horse racing with the highlight being the King George VI Chase at Kempton Park first raced in 1937 to celebrate the coronation of the new King this race will give feeling for the rest of the horse racing calendar going into 2024.
However, the best Christmas themed sporting event is the PDC World Darts Championship held around Christmas yearly; it is played in the historic Alexandra Palace. As the weather gets colder it heats up inside with the best that Darts has to offer showing off their skills as they battle to become World Champion. This year it takes place from December 15th until January 3rd, and should deliver its famous atmosphere which often produces viral clips online. ‘Cool Hand’ Luke Humprhies comes into the tournament a hot favourite having won three of the last four ranked tournaments with defending champion Michael ‘Bully Boy’ Smith not very fancied to retain his crown. Each evening the tournament will be broadcast and should be an entertaining watch as it is every year.
Ryan Brolly is a History and International Relations student at Queens University Belfast and Sport Editor at The Scoop