Did y'all watch on Friday night? The preliminary rounds are broadcast on ESPN Ocho (I love that ESPN will air pretty much any competition), but the final round was a big deal- it was on ABC. The best part of the ABC coverage - the tag team of commentators doing play by play of a spelling bee. It was honestly like Fred Willard in Best in Show:
Commentator who knew something about spelling: Well, the second syllable is where he might get tripped up, he could go with an 'a' instead of an 'e'.
Judge: The word is 'xyze2ghs'
Tom Bergeron: dear god
Field Correspondent who usually covers MLB and NCAA sports: What was going through your mind when you hit the second syllable? When did you know you had it?
I'm always struck by how well those kids hold themselves together. They've spent years preparing for this, are clearly stressed out by it, and then when they are out, they have to *sit on the stage* watching the other participants continue. I would not be so gracious in defeat.
If you haven't seen it already, highly recommend Spellbound, a documentary about The Bee. I know what you're thinking; documentary + spelling = zzzz. Honestly, I was on the edge of my seat when I saw it, as were the people in the theatre. When a kid would miss a world, people would audibly gasp and sigh. There was cheering when they got the words right. It's a great movie, put it in your NetFlix queue.
Sign that not everyone is all that interested in spelling: At the nail salon this weekend, one of the technicians asked the group, "how do you spell 'follow'?"
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
OMG! numbnut?? numnutt?? nummnot?? Oooohhhh, numnah - a saddle blanket. Of course. I am so relieved.
Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. I heard numnut as well.
Post a Comment