Do “competitive spellers” get awarded letter jackets? 
[George Plimpton] “The injured basketball player hobbled off the court and was given a cheer.” [/George Plimpton]
Only in the sense that when I see a line I wish I’d posted, it was usually posted by you.
Aww … you’re so darn cute! Can I adopt you? Or, um, will you adopt me? Or maybe your parents, so we can be siblings, at least (I think you’re probably about the same age as I am)?
What it comes down to is that the world of competitive spelling is hurting. They needed a cute little kid to win, the kind of kid that people would get behind, support and love. Maybe a little boy, say with a lisp and a bow tie. The little girl could have had her choice of attendance at one of the 7 sisters colleges, but noooooo she had to try to win. This is why you should never fight the man. (And she missed out on a George Plimpton brand hot plate! I need to get one of those.)
That wasn’t funny.
He did. Practicing proctology without a license. He claims to be getting a new perspective.
Opinions vary.
"…good grief, the comedian’s a bear!
No he’s-a-not, he’s-a-wearing a neck-a-tie!"
Capital Em Eye Ess Ess Eye Ess Ess Eye Pee Pee Eye.
Mississippi, bitch.
I spelled it right, you fucking waste of skin.
Not that I’m still upset, or anything.
Man…lots of repressed spelling bee anger on this board! 
Perhaps the parents waited to complain not because of some desire to be respectful and not interrupt or whatever, but because they needed time to look up the word?
All these spelling bees yet so many kids graduate unable to spell.
Shameless Plug: Note the Google link for a movie called Akeelah and the Bee. Mr. Rilch and Boss worked on it last year, it’s a good little film, check it out when you can!
Reason I’m grateful to be an adult #483,250: Don’t have to deal with these ridiculous contests about 2% as credible as figure skating.
I can say with absolute confidence that this crap happens all the time. I remember one memorable statewide bee where the host (who never struck me as unreliable) handed the entire contest to someone by mistake. With a trip to the nationals at stake.
All a lawsuit does is give the event far more importance than it deserves, i.e. none. What the hell was she thinking?
Just remembered, one of the only funny things SNL has done in the last year:
Oh. My. God. The same thing happened to me circa 1974 in Jax, FL! I won the Landon Jr. High Spelling Bee on “corduroy” (honest - lol). At the city-wide event, I spelled “delicate” - when the word given was “delegate”. :wally:
VCNJ~
Old spelling joke.
“Johnny, how do you spell crocodile?”
“K-R-O-K-O-D-I-A-L”
“Wrong, Johnny.”
“Maybe so, Miss, but you asked me how I spell crocodile.”
Miscellaneous.
The word was miscellaneous. I still get a pang every time I have to spell it. But I did spell it wrong. I have nobody to blame but myself. :: sniff :: 
At the regional bee in the sixth grade, I got nervous. There were three of us left. My word was ‘cautious’. Yeah, we had easy freakin’ words at the REGIONAL bee.
I was shaking and spelled it ‘c-a-t-i-o-u-s’. I KNEW I’d done it the second I finished. :smack:
I sat down with my parents and :smack: myself because I knew every other word that they gave out after that. The winning word was ‘rancid’. I still hate that word.
E.