Top 5 Fights In Spelling Bee History
When it comes to violence in sports, the spelling bee is unparalleled. Although, with nearly 8,000 physical conflicts on the circuit each season, it can be difficult to decide the best brawls. That’s where we come in. Here are the top five fights in spelling bee history:
5) Mrs. Washington’s 3rd Grade Classroom, 1994 – Known as “The Chairshot Heard ‘Round The World,” this infamous brawl erupted after local bully Nick Duncan refused to stop interrupting rival Narayan Patel’s spelling of the word “astronaut.” Patel, inspired by his hero, Triple H, became so agitated that he calmly walked over to the teacher’s desk, grabbed her swivel chair, and smacked Duncan so hard in the skull he was rushed by ambulance to the hospital. A college scout was so impressed with Patel’s performance that he immediately offered the 7-year old a spelling scholarship to Dartmouth.
4) Houston Public Media Spelling Bee, 2001 – In a District Finals death match for the ages, underdog 6th grader Rahul Sharma (42-to-1) responded to rival speller Ryan Hannigan’s claim he was going to make Sharma’s mom spell his name “all night long” with a DDT so thunderous, Hannigan’s head went clear through the competition stage floor.
3) Nevada State Spelling Bee, 2010 – Certainly the most one-sided fight on our list, this epic beat down came after Disha Joshi, the Ron Artest of Spelling, went into the crowd mid-word and pummeled the absolute hell out of every single contestant and fan in attendance using only her matching L-O-V-E and H-A-T-E brass knuckles. When asked what set her off, Joshi responded by silently pointing to the now-empty beer can which had been hurdled at her face when she was trying to spell the word “Donaghy.”
2) Scripps National Spelling Bee, 2013 – Although this Bee is best known for champion Arvind Mahankali’s ice cold celebratory flex, it was also the very same event where Hall of Famers Jessica Abrams and Katie Miller had their now infamous no-holds-barred backstage match. Letter by letter, the nation watched as Abrams dismantled Miller using only her words, nearby clipboards, and a sledgehammer with the word “DICTIONARY” written on it. Unfortunately, the fight was never sanctioned by the World Spelling Association, and both Abrams and Miller were forced to serve a 14-Bee suspension.
1) SpellaMania III, 1987 – Nearly 33 years after people’s champion Deepak Ravishankar somehow managed to verbally body slam a 520-pound Mark ‘The Giant’ Stevens in front of a packed Pontiac Silverdome crowd, the fight remains the most iconic in spelling history. Were it not for this bout, it’s arguable that spelling would have remained a back-alley, drug-filled sport, instead of the international powerhouse it is today.
