NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — After an unprecedented cancellation last year due to the pandemic, The Scripps National Spelling Bee is back on, with the final rounds underway right now.
NewsChannel 5 talked with Tina Tuggle, the Tennessee Titans Vice President of Community Impact, who said that the relationship with our parent company E.W. Scripps, and the two-toned blue is the perfect pair for the spelling bee.
Of course, Nissan Stadium is accustomed to hosting the biggest and best stars, and now the savviest youth spellers in the Nashville area after the Titans stepped in to save the Middle Tennessee Spelling Bee regional round several years ago.
“We reached out to Scripps when we learned that there was a need to continue to host a bee here in the Middle Tennessee community. We reached out to them and said, ‘Hey the Titans would like to step up and take the lead on hosting the bees here,’ and they were very gracious, and just have been a wonderful organization to work with,” said Tuggle.
In the sixth year of this unique partnership between a top NFL franchise and the top spelling competition, the Titans typically host lots of kids for the regional round at Nissan Stadium, but because of COVID, they could only bring a handful in-person to compete with others for two spots in the national rounds this year.
But typically, in Titans' fashion, they do it big. Tuggle has her fingers crossed for full-capacity again next year.
Two competitors advance from the Titans Spelling Bee Regional Round and this year, Cross Burgess and William Perez went on to compete, virtually, in the next rounds.
Those rounds are typically held in our nation's capital, but this year they traded it for ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort. Our Middle Tennessee competitors won't be in Orlando for the finals, but Tuggle said she foresees the Titans being involved with the Scripps National Spelling Bee for years to come.
