Thread by @codeman38

It's 1997 #SpellingBee rerun time!

Feel free to mute #SpellingBee and/or #BingeTheBee if you're not interested in my tweets about this.

If you're wondering who this pronouncer is, that would be Dr. Alex Cameron, who passed away in 2003.

And yes, associate pronouncer Jacques Bailly is the current pronouncer.

#SpellingBee #BingeTheBee

No, you're not imagining things: in 1997, they just kept the competition running through the commercial breaks!

If I recall, there's one speller who was unlucky enough to end up spelling every one of their words during a break.

#SpellingBee #BingeTheBee

If you're only more familiar with more recent bees, you may have noticed that there was no time limit for spellers in 1997.

#SpellingBee #BingeTheBee

All three spelling bees you'll be seeing today took place at the Grand Hyatt in downtown DC. They only moved out to the Maryland suburbs in 2011.

#SpellingBee #BingeTheBee

If you haven't already figured it out... yeah, I'm the speller named Cody with placard number 38. 😆

#SpellingBee #BingeTheBee

One correction to the commentary – although my sponsoring org was in Atlanta, I lived a couple hours south of it in Houston County.

Georgia is one of those states where there's a statewide championship, and only the state champ is sent to the bee.

#SpellingBee #BingeTheBee

This was the first year that Jamaica participated in the spelling bee.

It certainly wouldn't be the last—they'd win the following year.

#SpellingBee #BingeTheBee

Seriously, props to whoever chose the production music tracks that were used in this broadcast. This goes *so much harder* than what they use now. 😆

#SpellingBee #BingeTheBee

That facial expression when I heard the bell…

"Doyenne" is indeed a word, which is why I thought I had it. But the definition they gave said "senior *male* member". "Doyenne" is the feminine form.

#SpellingBee #BingeTheBee

Oh, another thing you've probably noticed if you're only familiar with more recent bees: the sample sentences aren't funny!

#SpellingBee #BingeTheBee

.@EmmaSManning points out something else I'd completely forgotten: in 1997, the finals ran in the afternoon, not in prime time! This was also the case in 2004, but not 2008; they moved to prime time in 2006.

#SpellingBee #BingeTheBee

https://twitter.com/EmmaSManning/status/1249394349789589511

Oh, yeah, another thing I keep forgetting! For the newer Bee watchers, 1997 was before they added a written test as part of the bee. That didn't happen until 2002.

#SpellingBee #BingeTheBee

https://twitter.com/TrevorJMahoney/status/1249395729103228933

Ooh, I'd forgotten that 2004 was the first year with the countdown timer. #SpellingBee #BingeTheBee

"Palynological". Oh, hey, I know that word!

That's one fun thing about the spelling bee: they *do* reuse words from year to year.

#SpellingBee #BingeTheBee

Hah, that wouldn't be the last repeat word from 1997 to show up in the 2004 bee. "Vernissage" is there as well!

#SpellingBee #BingeTheBee

Seconding this, so much.

Even though it's a competition, what I got most out of the spelling bee was a sense of camaraderie.

#SpellingBee #BingeTheBee

https://twitter.com/TrevorJMahoney/status/1249424127179599881

This username originally dates back to an AIM account that I set up not long after the bee.

So many fond memories of logging onto AIM, creating a chat named "The Apiary" and hanging out with other spellers.

#SpellingBee #BingeTheBee

By 2008, the Bee has definitely entered the era of prime time finals, big-budget production values, celebrity commentary, and HDTV.

Such a massive difference after watching the earlier bees!

#SpellingBee #BingeTheBee

Flashing back to 1997 for a bit, because I was reminded of it by the 2008 commentary:

I did not expect to make it all the way to 4th place. Or even to the finals.

There were other words in my rounds I would have had *no idea* on.

#SpellingBee #BingeTheBee

Knowledge is a big part of spelling bee success, but luck of the draw is also part of it.

You might know every word in the round but one—and if the order of the word list just happens to give you that one word, you're out.

#SpellingBee #BingeTheBee

So that's it for #BingeTheBee!

Because ESPN is leading straight into the NBA HORSE Challenge, I leave you with this incredibly appropriate promo from the 2001 #SpellingBee:



(Apologies for the video quality, I think I ripped this from VHS *in* 2001.)