ABC will be broadcasting the the Scripps National Spelling Bee finals live this evening at 8 eastern, as you may be aware. The Wade Blogs has a nice post to get you ready… including video of the kid fainting, and my personal favorite, another kid nailing an impromptu Napoleon Dynamite impression that just confused the hell out of everyone.
I’d love to watch, and in fact, I would, if there wasn’t basketball on tonight. I certainly wouldn’t go so far as to call spelling a sport, but… for an evening, it will do. And compared to whatever douchebag-filled “reality” show featuring marginally-talented people who seek only to be on television that would normally be airing in this timeslot, the National Spelling Bee qualifies as high-brow entertainment.
And hey, it’s nice to see the smart kids get some airtime… they’re dedicated to this, they work hard at it, and every now and then, it’s probably a good idea to take a break from constantly praising the athletic kids. And, you know, I don’t like to brag, but in 3rd-grade, I won a class spelling bee. If I remember correctly, my winning word was “vulva.” But I may be confused about that.
telly
clearly 1932, 1940, 1941 and 1984 were dumb years:
http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0862710.html
June 1, 2006 at 3:35 pm
max power
I’d rather watch a spelling bee than….
The winter Olympics
The summer Olympics
The WNBA
NASCAR
The X-games
Golf
Motocross
Baseball / Cricket
Pool
Poker
Animal racing (except those terriers that George Michael shows)
Madden nation
Drifting
A NBA regular season game
June 1, 2006 at 4:54 pm
buddy
tell me they drug test the winners or I’m not watching
June 1, 2006 at 6:49 pm
Spelling4Life
1990 County Spelling Champ. “Gymnasium,” Bitches!!!!
June 1, 2006 at 6:53 pm
The Big Picture
w-h-a-t t-h-e f-u-c-k-?
June 1, 2006 at 9:46 pm
Sean
Fainting vid is frickin hilarious
June 1, 2006 at 10:26 pm
highlifer
What was great about the kid pictured is that he is a huge Phoenix Suns fan, and he called himself something like “The Steve Nash of Spelling.” He blew it on a word and left the competition at about 9 p.m. – I’m convinced he was just over it and wanted to watch the game.
I am not making this up.
June 1, 2006 at 10:32 pm
hkuszak
“Do chickens have large talons?”
“What was that?
…proceeds with spelling of the word.
Nice.
June 2, 2006 at 8:08 am