Now, we don’t usually bring you news from the world of spelling but, as you could probably tell by the interruption of your normal ABC broadcasting, the 2007 Scripps National Spelling Bee went down on Thursday…and we have a new champion, baby! Evan O’Dorney, 13, spelled “serrefine” without any problems to cap off a consonant and vowel filled tournament and won $35,000, plus a $5,000 scholarship and a $2,500 saving bond. Not a bad day’s haul if you ask us.
But it wasn’t all smiles at the bee as many casualties were left in O’Dorney’s path to the trophy, including Samir Patel, who many considered to be the favorite before the event. But the teary-eyed little nerd sealed his own fate last week when he compared not winning the alphabet bowl to “Dan Marino not winning the Super Bowl.” After he said that, Samir was doomed to misspell something simple like “clevis.”
Samir wiped away tears as he talked about his gaffe.
“The first thing I thought was c-l-e-v-i-s, and if I had been slow and cautious like I always am, I would have got it right,” he said. “But I just outsmarted myself. It was an easy word. I just made a stupid mistake.
But, hey, dry those tears baby boy; you’re the Dan Marino of spelling. That’s something to be proud of. It’s not as impressive as winning the big one, but it’s not bad. And you made ESPN’s “Best of the Bee,” so that’s pretty cool, huh?
Well, you did get outshined by the Napoleon Dynamite kid and that boy that fainted definitely showed more heart than you did. Hmmm, well you can spell really well and nobody can take that from you. You just can’t spell as good as this spastic little girl.
Links:
[Examiner.com]: Boy Wins Spelling Bee With `Serrefine’