Spelling Bee!

While most of my peers will be dressed in faux couture and drinking pink cocktails on their way to see the Sex and the City movie tomorrow night, I will be in sweats and drinking a beer while curled up on my couch. Why?

Scripps National Spelling Bee, of course!

That's right, folks, the national quarterfinals begin today at 2:00 p.m. EDT on ESPN360.com!

Okay, maybe I won't be tuning in on my computer today. You caught me. But I will definitely be checking out the semifinals on Friday morning (11:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m. EDT, ESPN), and I will definitely be watching the Championship finals in their entirety (8:00 p.m.–10:00 p.m. EDT, ABC)!

I know this is super lame, but I cannot help myself. Every year the championship rolls around and I start acting like my dogzillas do over rawhide: I salivate. I love competition; I love words. It's like the Scripps National Spelling Bee was created to be my personal ambrosia. I remember my youth, hunched over a dictionary and the list of words on newsprint studying, studying, studying, only to be bested by Lester Wang. (No, I don't hold grudges. Much.)

The point is that if they would let an adult participate in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, I would be champion.* (As long as they didn't ask me to spell broccoli, because I have to look that one up every single time.) Wait, no. That's actually not the point. (Even though I would dominate.) The point is this: It's fun to watch kids excel in a subject area that many people have long since given up in favor of spell checker.

Anything that gets kids excited to learn is aces in my book. And anything that gets kids excited to learn while incorporating the drama of a competitive event televised live? Well, that's just awesome.


*It has been said that my competitive streak is not my best quality, but whatever. The people who said that just wish they could win as much as I do.