Miss America: Realty Check

[SWTXBelle]

I thought Miss Washington was worthy - and would have been a real departure from the "Barbie" mold. I hated Miss Texas' formal gown (what is WITH those colours?!) and her talent was just this side of weird. Is it pointe, or jazz? Make up your mind!

[momofpnm]

I completely agree, SWTxBelle, and I hated her opening line about cows...cows?! Way to reinforce the stereotype...Miss Michigan was pretty but she looked most like a Barbie out of the finalists, ironic given the "new" image. I did like the shorter length and I think they should limit the time on the - er, "talent" portion even more. I wonder how their ratings came out.

[PeppyGPhiB]

My thoughts on the whole shebang:

- For once, I LOVED Miss Washington and all the attention she got. Our state never sends Barbie to these pageants, so our girls never make it through the first cut usually. I really thought she had a chance at winning, and even though she didn't, I'm happy she at least got third place.

- I didn't care for Michigan that much, but I thought she had a GREAT answer to her interview question. I do think her question was EASY (can you imagine anyone saying "No, I don't think someone with AIDS has an obligation to tell his/her spouse"?), but she gave a confident, positive, concise answer.

- I thought it was BAD that Lindsey Lohan was actually called out twice in the same question/answer for her alcoholism and recent troubles. Yes, she's a public figure, but I thought it was classless to call out someone as a specific example of who not to look up to.

- Regarding the girls doing ballet, I actually thought North Carolina had by far the best technique. Ballet isn't really about "kicks," as much as it is about control and beautiful lines. Virginia's legs appeared a little weak during her performance, and texas' jazz on pointe really didn't demonstrate ballet skill at all, although you can tell she's probably a good dancer. North Carolina was most reminiscent of a pro dancer - slow, but very controlled, graceful movements and she was more confident on her feet (surprised her shoes weren't more worked-in, though).

- I loved the intros they had all the contestants do in the opener. It showed that some of the women had great senses of humor.

- I found the whole telecast to be HORRIBLE. It was completely disorganized. The host missed cues and kept misspeaking, the teleprompter was obviously not moving fast enough, the cameras weren't doing close-ups on the contestants when they should've been (the cameras didn't seem to be in the right place at the right time), the contestants were caught prior to the talent portion beginning doing things like stretching and adjusting their costumes ON STAGE. I think TLC was way out of its league.

- I also thought it was dreadful that they kicked off girls throughout rather than announcing who would be moving on. Why turn it into something negative and give the audience reason to say, "Awwwwwwwww" or "Booooooooooooooooo" instead of applauding the ladies that were moving one step closer to the crown. They clearly wanted to copy reality shows of today with that "rub the salt in the wound" move, which is tacky and classless. This is Miss America, not Survivor!

[ISUKappa]

I'm glad we TiVo'ed it; I fast forwarded through most of the intros and the questions.

I thought Miss Washington did well, but was weak in talent. And I was so bored by all the singing. Blah. I was kind of bummed Miss Iowa got cut during the talent portion because I did want to see her baton act, as cheesy as it may seem. Both the husband and I were kind of WTF about Miss Michigan winning.

[bejazd]

I loved Miss Washington too. She was my favorite by far!

Was it just me or did Miss California look like she was 40? And opera? Ugh. Maybe someday we'll see a Miss CA who does extreme skateboarding as her talent! THAT would be modern! CA, Michigan and Miss Texas seemed like everything they were trying NOT to perpetuate as Miss America yet they ended up in the last bunch anyway. Michigan looked great in her bikini and the evening dress but I wasn't expecting her to win at all!

On the questions I thought the most dissapointing answer was the one on binge drinking. The part of about the importance of providing positive things for kids to do, so they are not out there doing negative things i.e. underage drinking, never made it into the answer.

[MSKKG]

Loved Miss Connecticut's answer to the "what's it like being on stage in a bikini in front of millions of viewers" question: "I don't know--I'm sitting here with you."

[jen0830]

Hi!
You are right. I was mistaken, I had her confused with Miss Missouri 2007 ( a Pi Phi at Mizzou). Thanks for the correction!
Best to you,
Jennifer
Jen0830

[jen0830]

I agree, our group was WHAT!?!?! Where did she come from? Talk about a long shot winning. No offense to anyone, but she didn't stand out like some of the others to anyone in our group.....even the guys were into it!
Ahh, how to spend a rainy night in LA,
Jen0830

[jen0830]

Originally Posted by SoCalGirl

Jen, you must have Missouri confused with another state.

Miss Missouri is a Sigma Kappa from Penn.

You are right! I was had her confused with Miss Missouri 2007 who was a Pi Phi from Mizzou. So many sororities, so much confusion! It was like I had my membership list going!

[jen0830]

Originally Posted by PeppyGPhiB

I think you've got your information incorrect. According to her profile on the Miss America Web site, she goes/went to Penn.

You are right, I had her mistaken with Miss Missouri 2007, who's a Pi Ph from Mizzou. You are peppy and perceptive!

[LPIDelta]

The only intro I didn't like was Georgia's: "From the state where you can have a southern accent and a college degree. Hi y'all, I am Miss Georgia..." Was that a shot at other southern states? Seemed a little lacking class to me... but I could have been reading it wrong.

Texas' dress was horrible.... and that talent was bad too. And that was the second time I had to see that darn talen because I watched the Miss Texas pageant on tv.

Talent supposedly makes up 30% of the score--so I really don't understand the outcome.

[LeslieAGD]

Originally Posted by LPIDelta

Talent supposedly makes up 30% of the score--so I really don't understand the outcome.

What is the breakdown? Is is 30% question, 30% talent, 20% evening gown, and 20% swim suit?

[PeppyGPhiB]

Originally Posted by LPIDelta

The only intro I didn't like was Georgia's: "From the state where you can have a southern accent and a college degree. Hi y'all, I am Miss Georgia..." Was that a shot at other southern states? Seemed a little lacking class to me... but I could have been reading it wrong.

I liked her intro, but that's because I interpreted it differently. I thought she was referring to the Georgia HOPE scholarships set up with Lottery funds, which have paid for a whole lotta kids to go to college in that state.

[efcheerBB]

I know I am way late on this, but...

Originally Posted by jen0830

She goes to the University of Missouri

I went to high school with Lindsay (she graduated the year after me) and she did not go to Mizzou.

Originally Posted by PeppyGPhiB

According to her profile on the Miss America Web site, she goes/went to Penn.

She graduated from Penn last year or the year before if I remember correctly. All I know for sure is that she is an alum of Penn.

Originally Posted by SoCalGirl

Miss Missouri is a Sigma Kappa from Penn.

Didn't realize that Lindsay had joined a sorority. Interesting to know!


I didn't really like Miss Michigan's dress, but oh well, it must have worked for her in order for her to win. I really thought that Indiana or Washington was going to win.

Originally Posted by PeppyGPhiB

I liked her intro, but that's because I interpreted it differently. I thought she was referring to the Georgia HOPE scholarships set up with Lottery funds, which have paid for a whole lotta kids to go to college in that state.

Thanks for the interpretation, because, like many, I too must have interpreted it wrong.

I still like Miss Washington's "How you like them apples?" intro better.