It’s no secret Indian American contestants have dominated the Scripps Spelling Bee.
Who then would be a better choice to host today’s annual televised championship on ESPN than the network’s own Kevin Negandhi?
Negandhi who is the first Indian American to host a national sports show says he can identify with the kids on stage.
“That’s me. That’s me on stage,” he said to the Washington Post. “Every Indian kid in America wants to please their parents first, and the pressure in pleasing your parents is so great, because it’s viewed as a societal thing. You never want to let your parents down. Ever. I mean, I still feel it. My parents didn’t do that to me. It’s just built-in. It’s in your DNA.”
Negandhi explains the Indian American dominance in the competition, comparing it to the drive many other kids have for sports.
“Every American kid who is with a traveling baseball team, AAU soccer, AAU basketball, traveling football team, you are involved in practice daily, many times it’s your parents taking you to competition after competition,” he said to Billypenn.com ““Those things are so similar to what is going on with many of these Indian Americans. Their parents are getting them involved, they are practicing daily and they’re going to competitions. And they’re dealing with pressure the same way these kids are dealing with at every level at a young age. They deal with pressure all the time, and it’s super competitive. It’s the only way I can describe it.”
ESPN’s coverage starts this morning and resumes for the crowing of the winner tonight.
Finals early coverage: 10 a.m. ET on ESPN2
Finals late coverage: 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN
Live stream: WatchESPN.com
Mobile: ESPN App
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