A dark horse competitor takes on the “LeBron James of College Excel.” A crowd member raises a sign that reads trust your cells. While competition propels Jesse Dougherty’s whirlwind tour of this year’s Microsoft Excel Collegiate Challenge, he keeps close tabs (get it?) on an engaging crew of competitors as they throw down. I gladly would’ve read another four thousand words on this year’s athletes. Feel the same? When you’re done, check out David Pierce’s 2024 coverage for The Verge.
Easy? Not quite. College Excel might not involve play calls or weight training, but it does require an abundance of skill. And while the term “student-athlete” has become a punch line in college sports, it does apply here (depending on what you think about people sweating while typing). The NCAA has those commercials — you’ve seen them — about how most athletes go pro in something other than sports. But in Vegas, most of these students, many of them finance majors, will go pro in spreadsheeting.
More unlikely sports and fearsome competitors
Why Did the Rubber Chicken Cross the Road?
“At 38, I began to feel the creep of the millennial midlife crisis. So I decided to break the strangest world record I could find.”
This Texas Teenager Is One of the World’s Most Feared Fighters. Don’t Expect Her to Talk About It.
“Not yet twenty, Helena Crevar is one of the most feared fighters in martial arts. What’s her secret?”
Changing Lanes
“America’s most popular declining sport.”
