May 29 2008
South Asian wiz kid on ESPN
I have always dreamed of the day that I could log onto ESPN.com and see a South Asian on the home page. Well, that day became reality yesterday. Right there, on the home page of ESPN.com was Samir Patel. No, he does not play basketball. And no, he does not play football or even baseball. He is a spelling bee wiz and he is from Texas.
A few days ago we reported on another South Asian who won the National Geographic Bee and now we are reporting on a kid who is a spelling bee veteran. Just another example that proves South Asians are pretty darn smart. Many of you may remember when ESPN actually broadcasted spelling bees live (must have been a slow time in sports), and it actually got decent ratings. The bees were intense, stressful, and very competitive. And as always, there are a few South Asians in the mix when it comes to educational competitions. Samir actually never won the spelling bee championship, but was very close for several years. ESPN calls him a “spelling bee icon” and a “spelling bee rock star”. This kid is not only smart, he is pretty funny. Watch the clip below to see what I am talking about.
Congratulations to Samir Patel for all your success and for fulfilling my dream of seeing a South Asian on ESPN! Good luck in the future.
I’ve seen this kid before on the spelling Bees on ESPN. He’s truly a character..hah
There is also a funny movie that you can watch that documents the lives of these spelling bee contestants. Its amazing how much work they have to put into preparing for this thing…
The movie is called Spellbound.
are houston’s DESI kids participating in the SOUTH ASIAN SPELLING BEE?
http://www.southasianspellingbee.com