The growth of the National Spelling Bee from quirky little activity to topic of hit documentary to prime time television extravaganza is one of the rare examples of brains triumphing in the history of our fair nation. It's about the only time the media will celebrate people who are neither fabulously good-looking nor athletically gifted and that's kinda nice. It also gives us, as viewers, a chance to see an eighth grader make Stuart Scott look like a fool.
Scott interviewed spelling bee champ Evan O'Dorney after he nailed serrefine to take the prize. Scott could have used some small forceps to remove him from the conversation after O'Dorney exposed his questions as nonsensical blather, something no athlete has been able to do. It probably helped that O'Dorney had no idea who this one-eyed black man in a lime green shirt was, just a guess but ESPN probably isn't in heavy rotation for a home schooled math whiz who practices his spelling while juggling. Double S was asking O'Dorney about his preference for math and music over spelling.
Scott: Would you like to, maybe, reassess your likability of the National Spelling Bee?
O'Dorney stares blankly, no doubt trying not to look at the eye, while trying to figure out what Scott's question might mean in English.
Scott: How do you feel about it now?
O'Dorney: Are you saying I'm supposed to like it more?
It really was a fantastic television moment.
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