Monday, January 26, 2009

Miss America, the "it" girl

I was so sick of hearing that phrase overused on Saturday night's telecast of Miss America, but that is one of my only complaints about the pageant. It really was a great show... the opening number was modern and fun, the girls looked like they were in their early 20s instead of their early 40s, Mario Lopez is a cheeseball but a great host, and the girls got the airtime they deserved. Clinton Kelly from What Not to Wear provided entertaining and sometimes slightly inappropriate commentary, which I enjoyed. I was pleasantly surprised with the top 15 - 11 of my top 15 made it into the finals and 3 of my "bubble choices" also made it in. I would have been right on target, but I went with Nebraska instead of Iowa as one of my bubble choices, and Iowa made it in (and all the way to 2nd runner up, which surprised me all night). By far, my biggest complaint of the night was the ridiculous exclusion of stunning Miss Oklahoma, Kelsey Cartwright!

WHAT.THE.HECK.HAPPENED? Her face is exquisite, and she seems to have such a bright and unaffected personality, a good talent (from what I heard), and a kick butt swimsuit body. Some things are just unexplainable! We do the "Face of Miss America" (or insert other major pageant) on my favorite pageant messageboard, and she won handily. We have decided it's a curse, because our winner last year was also a surprising exclusion from the top 15. Next year, we'll have to vote for the least attractive girl instead. ;)

In any case, I really enjoyed watching the pageant. Even Matt kind of enjoyed it (as much as a heterosexual male who only has an interest in hot girls in swimsuits could). Our friend Trevor was over for the start of the pageant, and both were impressed with most of the girls. Trevor commented that they had nice figures in the opening number outfits (simple, fitted black 3/4 sleeve tops and jeans by Paige Premium Denim). Matt commented after the pageant that it actually kept him fairly entertained. He thought the caliber of the girls was good, that Mario Lopez was cheesy but a good host, and that the production was modern. Several of the ladies caught his attention in swimsuit, and he really liked Tennessee, Arkansas, and Georgia in evening gown. I thought they all had killer bodies, and I immediately wanted to go throw up my dinner and hit the gym. ;) I loved Georgia's gown... it was my hands down favorite. She looked amazing in red. I was so thrilled that Miss Florida, Sierra Minott, finished 4th RU! She is just a doll, and I really liked her talent - very entertaining. Miss Georgia, Chasity Hardman, finished 1st RU. I knew it would end up between her and Miss Indiana, Katie Stam, our new Miss America. Miss New York, Leigh Taylor Smith, was also a very pleasant surprise and finished 3rd RU. Matt really liked her (not hard to see why, she is beautiful). I knew Indiana was going to win when it came down to the final three with only Miss America left to announce (they do a top 7, but only announce 4th RU through winner, so three are left standing when they announce Miss America and the two left after they announce the winner are 6th and 7th place). Matt was rooting for California (gorgeous face), but after seeing the reality show, it was clear that the pageant was either Indiana's or Georgia's.

In the end, I am happy. I totally get the winner (not her evening gown choice, but everything else), and I think she will be a great Miss America. She is beautiful, decently talented (she sang and it wasn't bad, especially considering she had been horribly sick), and has a phenomenal figure. She had the best winning reaction since Ericka Dunlap (Miss Florida 2003) won Miss America. No one will look at her and question why she is Miss America. I think TLC has been a great partnership for the Miss America Organization, and I sincerely hope they continue to move forward and put on a quality production that showcases the contestants in a positive light and is interesting to non-pageant fans.

Congratulations Katie Stam, Miss America 2009!

1 comment:

Amy said...

I enjoyed watching, too... and even Todd watched the whole thing! I thought Katie Stam was great, but I really didn't care for her evening gown. We were rooting for New York.. she was so adorable!