The 2007 Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee starts this Wednesday. Be prepared.
Alright ladies and gentlemen, it is time to get excited for....The 2007 Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee!!! Whooo!!! Some of you may not have been keeping up with what has been going on in the high stakes world of Spelling Bees in the past year, but that is ok: we are here for you. As a refresher, last year saw the Spelling Bee go into prime time for the first time in its history and 13 year old New Jersey native Katharine Close came out on top after correctly spelling the word ursprache. In case you are wondering...
ur·spra·che - n.
1. A hypothetically reconstructed parent language, as Proto-Germanic, the ancestor of the Germanic languages.
2. Language, speech.
Close was joined on the prime time telecast last year by 12 other finalists. Only two of those 13 return to wage phonic battle this year, and these two competitiors, along with a former finalist, are the clear favorites headed into Wendesday night's competition. So lets spend a little time getting to know these titans of spelling: Jonathan Horton, Samir Patel, and Kavya Shivashankar
Jonathan Horton finished sixth in last year's bee and hails from Gilbert, Arizona. This will Horton's third bee, having also finished 22nd in the 2005 competition. The 14 year old home schooler is the favorite headed into this year's competition, and he has been preparing hard for his shot at the title. According to the Arizona Republic:"Jonathan's preparation has been ardent, indeed. For as many as five hours a day, he has pored over words spewed at him by a computer program adapted by Michelle. He has reviewed video of his past bees, looking for clues to his concentration and composure."
Video review? Jonathan obviously has his eyes on the prize, preparing for the bee like Peyton Manning would prepare for the Super Bowl. To further exemplify his competive fire, here is a note about Jonathan's favorite athelete:
"At heart, though, he's a kid who would just like to meet one of his heroes from the Phoenix Suns. He's a loquacious, perspicacious, ardent Steve Nash fan."
So will Jonathan exhibit the same great determination of the two time MVP? The same bad hair? If anything, Horton has the same sense of desperation as the aging Nash: this will be Horton's last bee, as he will be too old to compete next year.
Samir Patel of Colleyville, Texas is one of the more loveable figures in the world of spelling. Just look at that cherubic face. Awww. Despite his youthful looks, 13 year old Samir is the hardened vet of this group of spellers, having placed in the top 30 of the Bee the past four years, including a 3rd place finish in 2003 and a 2nd place finish in 2005. Last year was a bit of a dissapointment, as Samir finished 14th and was eliminated on the word "eremacausis".
My one problem with Samir: it seems the he has become a bit of a rock star, and I am afraid that the added attention might throw him off his game. Just read this excerpt from the Star Telegram:
"Samir Patel of Colleyville is making his fifth and final appearance at the Scripps National Spelling Bee, which starts this morning with preliminary competition. So it seemed logical that bee organizers would invite the North Texas spelling whiz to offer some words of advice for other contestants.
Patel's pep talk at a Tuesday night orientation was the first time a Bee participant had been asked to address fellow competitors. Afterward, more than two dozen spectators lined up for his signature in Spelling Bee autograph books.
Autographs for the other spellers? Speeches? I can't help but feel that Samir is going to be thrown off his game by all of this, which is a shame since my bet is that he will be the prime focus of the televison coverage.
Kavya Shivashankar is an 11 year old from Olathe Kansas. She was the youngest of all of the finalists in last years bee, and was memorable for her strategy of using her hand to visualize writing out the words. Kavya's fan appeal was not enough to guide her to the win however, as she was felled by the word "gematrial". According to the Kansas City Star however, Kavya does not believe she will make the same mistake again:
"She substituted an “o” for the second “a” — a misstep she thinks she might not have made if she’d known it was an adjective. 'Now I know to ask for all the information about the word,' she said."
Kavya and her father have made an effort to focus her study on Greek and Latin roots for this year's bee, in hopes of improving upon last year's finish.
So who is the favorite? Is it the Steve Nash loving, video studying, home schooler Horton? Is it the media darling, speech giving, autograph signing Patel? Or is the smart money on Kavya, the 11 year old Kansas whiz kid? Well, if I am going to endorse one speller this year...it is not going to be any of them. You see, there is a speller in this year's bee that has already gotten my attention as a dark horse by virtue of his interview with the Houston Chronicle, and that speller is 13 year old Brian Ajieren. What is so special about Ajieren you might ask? Well, just take a look at this excerpt from his interview:
"Q: You're on your way to the spelling bee championship. Are you a little nervous?
A: Not really."
"Q: Since you're expected to know every word in the dictionary, let's start at the beginning. Spell aardvark.
A: Aardvark. A-a-r-d-v-a-r-k. Aardvark.
Q: OK, so here's the last word in the dictionary. Zygote. How do you spell it?
A: Zygote? That's not the last word in Webster's Third.
Q: Oh, it's not? What is?
A: Zyzzogeton
Q: How do you spell it?
A: Z-y-z-z-o-g-e-t-o-n."
OWNED interview woman, completely and totally owned. Now that is the style of a true spelling champ. So to make it official, the WinningTheTurnoverBattle 2007 Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee Endoresement (WTB2007SHNSBE for short) goes to...Brian Ajieren. Don't let us down buddy, and keep on refusing to take crap from the media. That's a boy.
