Okay, so i watched all of 15 minutes of the annual Scripps National Spelling Bee competition yesterday. After switching channels and suffering through the Warriors game 1 NBA Finals loss to the Raptors, I regret not staying tuned in to see the final outcome of the spelling bee.
The spelling bee can be one of the most brutal competitions to watch. These kids have competed in local and regional contests before making it to this grand national stage. Though their families are proud of their accomplishments in getting to this big stage, the kids can’t help but carry the weight of trying to win for their families, town and school. Imagine the pressure of wanting to win a national competition for your supportive family and community, at 13 years old. Its the moment that dreams are so wonderfully conceived, and nightmares so fearfully faced. And of course the clock is ticking down to elation or elimination.
I didn’t remember past rules that allowed contestants to ask so many “hints” of the word given them to spell. It seemed to make the contest a longer, drawn out event, which maybe gave ESPN better ratings, but was torture on me as a viewer. ESPN even had a virtual “play along” side screen option for television viewers to try their luck at choosing the correct spelling through multiple choice answers. To me the option took away from watching the courageous drama these adolescents displayed while facing the pressures of a nationally televised spelling bee.
I learned today that an unprecedented outcome to the spelling bee had occurred; 8 contestants were deemed winners after answering 30 consecutive spellings correctly. The competition committee had simply run out of challenging words to give the kids. There have been multiple winners before, but never so many.
Congratulations Scripps National Spelling Bee Champions!
As for the NBA Finals, game 2 is Sunday. Can’t Wait.....
Can you spell Threepeat? Maybe the Golden State Warriors can. And in this competition there can only be one winner. That is Correct.
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