ESPN has decided that it will now capture and televise the exact moment that a child's dream of continuing on in the Scripps National Spelling Bee are crushed through the introduction of a "bell camera."
In years past, viewers of the event have seen some of the greatest moments of television history. Now, they'll be able to see the reactions of both the child prodigy and the judges' "bell ring of failure" simultaneously. As the spelling bee picks up speed towards the finals, there will be many more reactions like this:
This comes at a time when ESPN and its affiliates are branching out to join the mainstream. In April, ESPN2 aired a gaming tournament to many viewers' dismay. This, like the bell cam, may be an effort to try and catch the eye of younger viewers who have grown up with internet gaming as well as with reaction gifs and memes.
In an age where reaction gifs and memes are used more frequently, the invention of the bell cam promises to provide many opportunities to capture the look of joy leaving a child's face.
H/T SBNation