Guest Blog: Shimmy Gray-Miller on Winning the 2010 Joe Buck Celebrity Bee
Disappointed. Dejected. Heartbroken.
That’s how I felt after the first three years of competing in the Joe Buck / Kidsmart Celebrity Bee. Each year I was paired up with a Corporate Sponsor and we walked on that stage side by side confident that this would be the year that we beat the other celebrity/corporate teams and took home the crown. Each year I went home with wonderful parting gifts but no crown. I really wanted that crown. Badly.
After last years 4th runner up finish, I decided to put my coaching instincts to work. I trained. Just not in the way that one of my athletes trained. I didn’t train my body. I trained my mind. I watched countless episodes of Celebrity Jeopardy, (not the real Jeopardy because those questions are way too hard), Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader, (sometimes I was and sometimes I wasn’t), and Fear Factor, (which had absolutely no relevance at all on the Kidsmart event but I really love that show). When my kids had study hall at night, I had study hall at night. Sometimes I asked the smarter kids on my team to tutor me. My assistants quizzed me on the continents, (there’s definitely seven of them), solar system, the elements, and current events, (why is Justin Beiber so popular?).
When the big day came I had a nervous energy best described as what I experience on a typical game day. I made sure I put on lots of deodorant, (never let them see you sweat), and I headed over to the Pageant for the event. I knew it was my night when I found a parking spot right in front of the Pageant. I checked out my competition in the green room before we went on stage. I knew that Eric Brewer wouldn’t be a problem as long as he kept getting US History questions, (he’s Canadian. Get it?), but when I saw Ozzie Smith & Ralph Butler I got a little nervous. Both are returning champions from years past. They are like the UCONN of Kidsmart. But what kind of coach would I be if I got deterred by the competition? Bring it on Ozzie!
My partner Reggie from Emerson and I proved to be the perfect combination. He knew the questions I didn’t, (which were pretty much all of them except for the names of Obama’s daughters. Sasha and Malia thank you very much.), and I answered them confidently and in my best coaching voice. We didn’t even need to use the kids for help, (although we did use that $500 mulligan. Thank you Emerson!) I got a little nervous at the end when I realized that we really had a chance to win this thing. Four years of disappointment was finally coming to an end. All my hard work was coming to fruition. I can’t believe none of my staff or team showed up to bear witness. In the end though, it didn’t matter. I was crowned a winner. And for someone coming off a rough season on the court, it was nice to finally win something this year.
The crown is still strategically placed on my kitchen counter where it will remain for all of eternity. Or until I replace it with a crown from next year’s event. Thank you Kidsmart. Thank you Joe Buck. Thank you Reggie from Emerson. Thank you Barack Obama!
Shimmy Gray-Miller, aka The Winner
Posted by Christy McCutcheon on May 20, 2010 | comments (0) | Permalink
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