US Texting Champion Crowned

Congratulations Eli Tirosh.

Tirosh, 21, the current West Coast Champion, won the title of US Texting Champion yesterday by besting East Coast Champion Morgan Pozgar, 13.

In a tense final, Pozgar appeared to win the competition. However, a misspelling of the Mary Poppins song "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" gave Tirosh the title.

After typing that word, I can see why she may have had some problems wrapping her thumbs around it.

Cudos to the victors. Tirosh walked away with a cool $25,000, while Pozgar pocketed $10,000.

I previously mentioned this competition a few weeks ago, and while I still think that a US Text Messaging championship is a bit absurd, I am happy to see that we've taken the text messaging addicts off of the road for a short time.

This text messaging competition seems very similar to the Rubik's Cube competitions that began more than 25 years ago, or even the current rash of video game competitions.

While I don't understand the thrill of these competitions, I certainly don't deride the participants. In fact, I give them credit for finding creative ways to enjoy their passion.

That being said, even 13 year old Pozgar understands the value of a good quote.

"It's all about the thumbwork," said Pozgar. "It's about balance."

How could ESPN have missed this golden opportunity?