Friday, June 02, 2006

Spelling Bee a Big Deal now

This sure is an interesting change in something that is used to be treated as a farce by most of America. It seemed like the only coverage that the Spelling Bee got was when some poor kid passed out or some other kid shouts out the letters or something. Now it is prime time TV.

The broadcast had the flavor and style of a sports program, opening with a montage of the competitors and including a short profile of the first speller before he got his word. Profiles of other spellers followed during subsequent commercial breaks, and each pause in the competition brought a groan from the audience.

Each word or grimace by spellers triggered a blast of camera shutters, and the live TV camera followed the losers into the arms of comforting parents.

Maybe we will see a return to the 50s where things like the College Bowl were celebrated and talked about. It does seem to be a return to simpler times where High School Musicals and Spelling Bees were the talk of the town. There was no IPods, Internet or International Terror to make people afraid and their lives hectic.

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