The Art of Business

Sports Tickets to Bee

My son made me order tickets for him what is the greatest spectator Sports Ticket, the spelling Bee. I asked him why he thinks a spelling Bee is a sports event. He told me that even ESPN broadcast the Bee event, so it must be a sport. I guess if ESPN considers a spelling Bee important enough to broadcast, then it must be a sport.

I’ve always considered that a sport needs to have some physical brawn and brains has nothing to do with it and that there needs to be a field to play on, not a stage. But, when I attended the Bee along with my son, who by-the-way, is also very excellent at spelling, I noticed that emotion run high and the pain of misspelling a word is tangible. The pressure is very intense when they’re up in front of the microphone waiting to spell a word. The competition seems to even have players, umpires and rooting fans.

The players come to the front and wait for their word, the fans sit on the edge of their seats, the umpire throws out a word, a hushed silence over-comes the crowd. The player spells the word and is successful. The fans cheer and the player smiles and returns back to their seat. Then the next player approaches, will they spell the word correctly? No, they don’t the umpire hits the buzzer informing the fans of the misspelled word and a rumble of disappointment flows through the fans and the player slumps and walks off stage. So, intense, so thrilling. I would’ve never have imagined a Bee could be just as emotional as being at a football game.

At the end of the competition the winner is presented with a trophy and the crowd roars with approval and the player wears a smile of champions. But, not only does the player get a trophy, they also get a cash prize. Enough to save for college tuition. I looked over at my son and wondered if he’d be interested in playing the sport, Bee?

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