A rising sport with Indy ties, darts is magical, according 'Harry Potter' star

Darts may be a sport that has traditionally been associated with pubs, but it has evolved into a global phenomenon that is enjoyed by people of all ages, genders and backgrounds. Just ask the thousands of people who packed Madison Square Garden recently for the U.S. Darts Masters!

Coming off of the recent PopCon in Indianapolis, North America's best darts players and the top players from Europe's Professional Darts Corporation took to the iconic stage in New York to entertain a record 7500 fans over the two-day event.

Great Day TV and Pet Pals TV reporter KJ McGlinn covered the event as a correspondent for the Championship Darts Corporation and caught up with "Harry Potter" star Matthew Lewis. He was impressed with the crowd and a how the sport of darts -- which is second only to soccer in Europe -- is becoming wildly popular in the United States.

Matthew told KJ in an interview during the event,"Everyone comes to have a very good time. But it's become a lot more than that recently, in my opinion. You know, it's very eclectic in terms of the demographics. You think of it and you think of smoky pubs and big barrel-chested blokes, but nowadays it's like you go to the darts and there's everyone there. Men, women, old, young, people from all over the world. And I think that's really, really fantastic."

Lewis noted that the atmosphere at the U.S. Darts Masters at Madison Square Garden is reminiscent of a UK audience, showing that the sport has a universal appeal that transcends borders.

Indiana natives have another reason to become a fan as Danny Lauby -- who hails from Terre Haute -- also participated in the event and will be representing the United States in the upcoming PDC World Cup of Darts at the end of June in Frankfurt, Germany.

The growing sport has multiple ties to Indiana as several of the Championship Darts Circuit Main Events are played in Brownsburg at American Legion Post #331. The next stop in Indiana is September 20-22.

To learn more about darts in North America, visit champdarts.com. To see the rest of KJ's interview with Matthew Lewis, click here.