The Legend of Samir Patel
Sure, Indian spellers are hardly a novel concept at the Scripps National Spelling Bee. In reality, it is their abundance that makes our drinking game rules such an assault on your liver. However, long before Sameer Mishra tackled numbnuts....
..the bee's resident bad ass was a home-schooled Texan named Samir Patel.
Samir started the bee as a plucky nine-year-old, placing third in the 2003 Scripps Spelling Bee. In the following years, he placed 27th, 2nd and 14th, tormenting judges with his meticulously thorough questioning and winning fans with his attitude, but never claiming the elusive cash prize and encyclopedia set. In 2007, his final year of eligibility, he misspelled "clevis" as c-l-e-v-i-c-e and ended up finishing in 34th place. The stunned crowd gave him a standing ovation and the media dubbed him the "Dan Marino of Spelling." Rest assured, in his years since the bee, Samir has not gone the way of so many teenage celebrities. Samir is now 15 years old, taking dual credit courses at a local university and scored a 2,060 out of 2,400 on the SAT as a seventh-grader.
As we get ready to kick off another bee, here's a little tribute to our perennial favorite, Samir Patel.
And as you select your favorite speller for today's events, whether based upon burgeoning facial hair, hobbies or career aspirations, enjoy some legendary Spelling Bee moments over the years. Samir makes a cameo (of course), but the overall clip is greater than the sum of its parts.
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