Can you spell "autochthonous"?
That was the winning word for the 2004 Scripps National Spelling Bee champ David Scott Pilarski Tidmarsh. Talk about intimidating. A lot of us wouldn't have gotten past the fourth letter.
Tonight, the 2008 championship finals will air at 8 p.m. on ABC (KFSN, Channel 30 locally) and I, for one, will be watching. I know Coarsegold's Tia Natasha-Elizabeth Thomas this morning earned a spot in the round. She's featured in a story in today's Bee written by colleague Michael Doyle. You can see how she got there by reading today's update.
Why watch a spelling bee? Not only is it an educational event, but it packs just as much dramatic punch as any sporting competition. No wonder ESPN started broadcasting it a few years ago. Look what you've got: Gut-wrenching suspense. Nail-biting nervousness. Brief smiles of relief. Failure. Triumph. Heck, one year a boy even fainted.
And these are all earnest, hard-working kids. You wish they could all win. But, tonight, let's all cheer on Tia!
Comments:
Argghh, thanks for the spoiler warning!!
Posted by: Bryan Harley at May 30, 2008 2:01 PM
Bryan, I would have spoiled it for you if Tia had won the whole thing, but you weren't supposed to know until tonight. (The Bee reported her progress late this morning on its Web site.) So, you can still watch, not knowing whether or not Tia is the victor.
Posted by: felicia matlosz at May 30, 2008 2:16 PM
Yeah, I was just joking.
Posted by: Bryan Harley at May 30, 2008 3:42 PM
I thought you might be, but I wanted to make sure I really didn't spoil anything for you. I'd feel bad if I did.
Posted by: felicia matlosz at May 30, 2008 3:45 PM
Well, it was 9:26 p.m. and I was watching the spelling bee on Channel 30 when I clicked on my bookmarked fresnobee.com. No need to watch anymore! I know the results before they aired in the Fresno area. oh well. Now I can go back to Hannity and Colmes.
Posted by: katbon at May 30, 2008 9:32 PM
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