It may be summer, but some kids are still hitting the books! Evan O'Dorney is in training almost all year 'round. No, he's not an amazing new NFL prospect or rookie. Evan is a 13 year kid from Danville, CA who recently won the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Basically, Evan single-handedly won the Super Bowl of Spelling Bees!
Evan topped 286 other participants and in the end won the event by correctly spelling the word "serrefine". Winning the National Spelling Bee can really pay off. When the Oakland Raiders found out that Evan lived nearby, they decided to reward him for his awesome victory!
The Raiders have invited Evan and his family and friends to come, as guests of the team, to an upcoming NFL home game during the 2007 season. Maybe when Evan's at the stadium, the Raiders will test him by asking him to spell Nnamdi Asomugha. That's the name of one of the Oakland Raiders cornerbacks! Either way, Evan will have a great time meeting the Raiders and watching them play.
...but can he spell Nnamdi Asomugha?!
When Evan isn't studying the dictionary, he also enjoys studying math, and plans to increase his math knowledge and someday become a teacher or a researcher. After Evan traveled around the country and was recognized for his Spelling Bee win, he decided to take off the summer from spelling words 24/7 and relax. He can enjoy some of the prizes he won -- Evan took home $35,000, a $5000 scholarship and a $2,500 savings bond. Pretty nice benefits for being a great speller. Plus, Evan will get to experience one of the great events in the NFL, a home game of the (spell it now) ...
