Spelling

I am watching the national spelling bee, on one of the big 3 networks, during prime time. The whole thing makes no sense to me. How did spelling ever get to matter so much that it's a national competition, worth national news coverage and network airtime? I have never heard of any of the words in the finals, and I fail to see how being able to spell them once in a high-pressure situation says anything at all about anything. What is the positive side of some 13 year old being reduced to tears because she can't spell "cilice"? I can almost guarantee that unless it comes up in her memoirs she will never use the word again. Neither will I.