ESPN seems to think the Scripps National Spelling Bee is a sport. It is not. But it's on ESPN right now, and you're not doing anything else right now. Let's scan the list of semifinalists for local rooting interests. That's "semifinalists," of course, indicating Georgia's two entrants have sadly been eliminated. These things happen.
Four 2011 semifinalist spellers hail from SEC states, including three from Florida. Among those, Grace Remmer of St. Augustine is your most local option, since St. Augustine is pretty much Jacksonville, which is pretty much Georgia. Thus far she's nailed febrifugal and Hypotheria.
Other Florida contenders include Palmetto Bay's Claire Zuo and West Melbourne's Stuti Mishra, and we also have Kentucky basketball player Emily Keaton. For ACC fans, I'd recommend Waxhaw, North Carolina's Prakash Mishra, who's already received perhaps SB Nation's highest honor: a Mustache Wednesday from Every Day Should Be Saturday. There are also some kids from Maryland and Massachusetts, which are technically ACC states, I guess.
The general sports fan should lean toward Jamaica's Hanif Brown Jr., who follows pretty much every sport, including American football, and is a big Chelsea fan.
For more on the Scripps National Spelling Bee, visit SB Nation's spelling blog ... oh, we don't have a spelling blog. Dawg Sports is really good at spelling.