Ranking the 8 most memorable Scripps National Spelling Bee moments of all time

Some all-time memorable moments.

We ran this back in 2016, and with the 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee (the 93rd edition of the event) coming up Thursday night, it’s a good time to bring this list back out.

The Scripps National Spelling Bee has arrived, reminding us once again it’s one of the most underrated events of the year. There’s drama (will the kids hear the “ding”?), comedy (the competitors and the official pronouncer can be funny) and intensity (you’ll see below) that can lead to some shocking and very viral moments.

In celebration, let’s look back at the most memorable m-o-m-e-n-t-s we’ve seen over the years:

8. The Napoleon Dynamite impression

That’s a very, very good Napoleon Dynamite.

7. Numnah?

This is one of the best unintentional standup routines ever recorded. “Oh, numnah! That’s a relief.”

6. Using Drake in a sentence

You have to love the creativity from last year’s Bee. Also not the last time you’ll see sentences that cite pop culture.

5. Jacob Williamson

His celebrations are the stuff of legends.

4. Sardoodledom

This is Kennyi Aouad from 2007. Amazing.

3. The Milkshake mistake

Pronouncer Dr. Jacques Bailey, who is one of my favorite things about the Bee, accidentally read a sentence involving Kelis’s hit song that wasn’t supposed to be used. In case you don’t know why that happened, here’s what a Bee spokesman told USA TODAY Sports in 2014:

There are many references to pop culture in the sentences used at the Scripps National Spelling Bee. In fact, we employ comedy writers to develop these sentences. It’s one way we make the sentences entertaining and, therefore, the Bee more engaging.

There is a multi-layered review and approval process for the sentence content. The comedic sentence provided for the word “feijoada” was rejected during an initial review. The Bee will review how the sentence came to appear in material served to Dr. Bailly after being rejected in our system.

2. The Faint

This wasn’t funny at all. But the fact that Akshay Buddiga fainted, got up and spelled a word right is incredible. And The Ringer just published a story about the famous faint in 2021.

1. E-U-O-N-Y-M!!

This is an iconic moment in Spelling Bee history — Rebecca Sealfon’s excited spelling of euonym while knowing full well she’s got the win sewn up in 1997. It’s the Spelling Bee equivalent of a bat flip … and it’s wonderful.