6 incredible Scripps Spelling Bee reactions that prove spelling is sports

The Scripps Spelling Bee finals are today. The whole competition is something remarkable. It’s a grouping of humans around middle school age* with the memory or instinct for spelling that makes them seem like they took the pill Bradley Cooper’s character consumes in Limitless — if the pill was literally only for acquiring a dictionary inside your head.

Despite all this talent for words, it is funny to watch the actual bee because of the contestant’s reactions. Some of them are refined, with only a brief smile as celebration, and some don’t react at all.

We got that in 2013 with winner Arvind Mahankali. It’s kind of impressive how he stands there emotionless with the confetti raining around him.

It’s like he’s surveying his kingdom.

The very best, though, are the ones who react without censoring themselves. We are starkly reminded these talking and walking Merriam-Websters are still children. But hey, they’ve spent all this time studying, so let them let loose a little bit.

This was this year’s speller No. 241, Will Rooke, who told the judges he was feeling “spicy” and performed this celebration upon nailing his word. Yes, he was later eliminated, but his spicy spirit will be with us for at least until the next competition.

No 93 Arin Bhandari also managed a dab, although he showed more restraint.

The dab is a carry over from last year, when it was extremely prevalent. Here’s a compilation of all the dabs.

It is after viewing this for several loops that I am exceedingly glad I am not an elementary or middle school teacher in the late 2010s. They are saints, all of them.

In all honesty though, these reactions are so good that there is a whole category on GIPHY for them. I have unabashedly borrowed heavily from that category for this post.

Dez Bryant celebrations translate surprisingly well to competitive spelling. 2016’s Nihar Saireddy Janga knows this. He was one of the co-winners that year.

I honestly believe deep inside all of us is this need to behave this way whenever we are lucky enough to grab a moment in front of a camera. It’s some innate need for attention. It may fade as we age, but it is at its peak when we are in adolescence.

NIHAR IS SO COLD. I’m starting to realize the best place to have your 15 minutes of fame is on the spelling bee. If you’re under 15 and reading this, don’t squander that opportunity.

*One contestant in 2017 is 5 years old. She is not middle school age. Here she is!