Some people think all pageant girls grow up a la “Toddlers and Tiaras”… practicing their sugar-sweet smiles and perfect poses from the day they were old enough to walk. But it doesn’t take decades of pageant experience in order to see yourself on stage at Miss America (although sometimes it works out that way, but rarely). Essentially, the pageant world has it’s own ‘math’ that we use to determine who’s likely to win. It has very little to do with how old you are, instead we’re more interested in how old you are in ‘pageant years’. Let me explain.

There are usually 3 groups of ‘pageant girls’ at Miss America… and here they are (in no particular order – haha)…

Group #1 = Purists. These are girls who are loyal to Miss America and her crown only, refusing to partake in other sub-standard pageants. It may take her 5 attempts to win her state, but because she believes in the Miss America ideal, she refuses to look elsewhere.

Group #2 = Veterans. These girls have been in numerous pageants – as children, as teenagers or as young women. Doesn’t matter if they competed in the Miss America system or a different system (Miss USA, ANTSO, Teen Competitions, etc), pageants are as natural to them as crying on stage and waving in parades.

Group #3 = Babies. These are girls who have little to no pageant experience whatsoever. In our humble opinion, if you’ve competed in 5 or more pageants, you’re no longer a baby. It’s not about how old you are (you can be 24 or 18) – it’s about how many pageants you’ve entered.

Miss America has certainly crowned their share of winners in each group… for example:

Purists = Jennifer Berry and Deidre Downs both won their respective states on their 5th try before moving on to be named Miss America. Debbye Turner and Debra Maffett each needed 4 attempts across 2 different states to win, rather than participate in a different system like Miss USA or others.

Veterans = Nearly all Miss America winners have ‘some’ pageant experience. Katie Stam, Lauren Nelson, Erica Dunlap and Teresa Scanlan all participated and did quite well at pageants in other systems before joining the Miss America system and winning the title (even though Katie, Lauren and Teresa all won their state on their first try).

Babies = The rarest of winners, when Kaye Lani Rae Rafko, Kristen Haglund and Kimberly Aiken all won the Miss America title, it was only their 3rd pageant ever (in all 3 cases).

So, based on this kind of ‘pageant math’, who falls in what category for the title of Miss America 2012? Let’s take a peek:

Purists = Alabama, Virginia, Florida and Missouri. Bama won on her 6th attempt at Miss Alabama. Virginia, Florida and Missouri all won on their 5th attempt. These ladies get the perseverance award for what we’re guessing is a total of 50+ pageants between the 4 of them. WOW!

Veterans = All of the MAOTeen Girls listed yesterday plus California, North Dakota and Kansas for sure… might be a few others who have various experiences with other systems, but those are the ones we know about. CA was Miss Teen World in 08 and Miss Teenage CA in 07, ND was Teen USA in ’10 and KS was Teen USA in ’04 and KS ‘US’ in 2010 (finishing as 2nd Runner Up).

Babies = DC, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Utah, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Maine and Wyoming all won on their first trip to their state pageants! While we can’t say ALL of these girls have been in less than 5 pageants, there’s no doubt quite a few of them qualify (we know DC, UT and PA do for sure).

Most of the time, experience counts. Remember, in the past 23 years, only 3 ‘Babies’ have been crowned. It’s all part of the ‘pageant math’ we use when putting together our ballots!

Who do you have in your Top 5???

Part of the fun at Miss America Junkies is the insane amount of research we do on each contestant. Normal people think we’re crazy, but we consider it part of the job! For example, we can tell you that both Kentucky and New York were named the 1st Runner Up at Miss Sweetheart (NY in 2008, KY in 2010 – if you don’t know what Miss Sweetheart is, google it!)! Or, that Miss Nebraska could’ve taken the crown when Teresa Scanlan won Miss America, but turned it down to come back and win on her own. Or that Arkansas is somehow related to Miss Arkansas 2004 Lacy Fleming who finished as the 3rd Runner Up to Deidre Downs Miss America 2005 (although, we’re still looking for the full scoop on that one!). It’s not an easy job, but someone’s gotta do it!

Believe it or not, photos like this one make our job much easier!

This photo was taken in Orlando during the MAO Teen competition this past August. From Left to Right, it’s Idaho, Minnesota, New Jersey, Texas, Kentucky, Montana, Nebraska, Georgia and North Dakota. Every one of these girls were once a “Teen” winner before becoming a “Miss” winner today. With 9 girls at Miss America who once were an official “Teen Winner” that says something about their ability to bring home the crown this year! Here’s what we know:

– Kentucky finished as the 4th Runner Up to Teen winner Caitlin Brunell.
– Texas is the 4th former Miss Texas Teen to win the Texas state title (and we think she was a baton twirler as a Teen!).
– Minnesota described herself as skinny, gawky and awkward when she won MAO Teen in 2006 (and won what she called the ‘nerd’ award for academic achievement).
– North Dakota was MAO Teen AND Teen USA before winning her current title.

What does all this mean? Nothing yet… but one of these days, Miss America WILL crown a girl who was an MAO Teen… Last year, only 4 girls were MAO Teens before winning their state title (Hawaii finished as 2nd runner up and California made the Top 7 in 2011). Going from 4 girls who were MAO Teens in 2011 to 9 girls in 2012 proves one of our favorite theories; A farm system works in both baseball and pageants. 🙂

Who do you think is most likely to finish the highest out of this group?

The first major announcement during Pageant Week are the Quality of Life Finalists. Honestly, Miss America could use a lesson in branding with this award… Quality of Life always makes me think of ‘old people’ in a hospital or nursing home somewhere. It doesn’t accurately reflect the countless hours of community service these girls perform when they win their titles. Truly, they could call it the “Golden Service Award” or the “Community Action Award” or something… Perhaps they’re simply waiting on a sponsor (lol).

In any event – here are the eight finalists and their personal platform issues:

Miss Arkansas Kristen Glover – Second Chances Through Mentoring
Miss Hawaii Lauren Cheape – C.A.R.E., Collegiate Athletes Reaching Everyone
Miss Kentucky Ann Blair Thornton – Alzheimer’s Awareness and Research
Miss Michigan Elizabeth Wertenberger – Continue to Dream, Giving Hope to Children with Chronic Illness
Miss Minnesota Natalie Davis – Autism Awareness: The Missing Piece
Miss New Hampshire Regan Hartley – Bullying Awareness in Our Community
Miss New York Kaitlin Monte – Anti-Bullying Through Youth Leadership
Miss Ohio Ellen Bryan – Promoting Lightning Awareness, “When Thunder Roars, Go Indoors”

Did anyone else notice this was announced in alphabetical order? Wonder if you’re able to connect those dots when you’re standing on stage? Might want to ‘mix it up’ next time to keep everyone on their toes!

In case you’re a Newbie, here’s a little more about the Quality of Life Awards from the Miss America Press Release…

The Quality of Life Awards were introduced in 1988 to recognize contestants who excel in their commitment to community service. In order to be considered for the Quality of Life Award, contestants must submit an application describing their involvement with Children’s Miracle Network, the national platform of the Miss America Organization, and their own personal platform issue.

The winner of the Quality of Life Award will receive a $6,000 scholarship, the first runner-up will win a $4,000 scholarship, and the second runner-up will win a $2,000 scholarship. Winners will be announced at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on January 14 during the 3 p.m. (PST) press conference.

While the Quality of Life Award TECHNICALLY has nothing to do with how you finish as a competitor (you don’t get any ‘points’ for being a finalist or a winner of the QoL) it does tell you which contestants have compelling stories to share during their personal interview with the judges. Plus, there’s some really good topics this year! Ohio’s Lightening Awareness is the first of it’s kind at Miss America (her sister was struck by lightening and is now disabled), and Bullying from New Hampshire and New York is a perfect fit given all the national media attention it’s getting. Something else these finalists all have in common, they’re basically ‘lived’ their platform issue. Michigan has survived a chronic childhood disease… Hawaii was a collegiate athlete… Kentucky’s grandfather struggled with Alzheimer’s… etc, etc. Again, it has no bearing on whether or not they’ll make it into the Top 15, but they’ve already got a leg-up when it comes to communicating an emotional story about how they’ve served their state so far.

Plus, don’t they all look beautiful in their clothing from Express? I appreciate how they all have Red, White and Blue as the ‘pop’ of color (along with Black and White). Based on initial photos, I didn’t see any fashion-faux-pas… but the week is still young 🙂

Stay Tuned… We’re just getting started! 🙂

After doing some perusing of the Miss America Press Releases, I came across this announcement regarding our new Swimsuit Sponsor, Kompliqué:

Showcasing strength, body, intelligence and beauty via their new official swimwear sponsor Kompliqué; the swimwear features vibrant colors and bold patterns that match the style and personalities of the individual Miss America contestants—and the bold new direction the Miss America brand is taking.

President and CEO of the Miss America Organization, Art McMaster states, “This year we are celebrating the vibrancy, individual style and colorful personalities of our contestants, and aligning with Kompliqué as the official swimwear sponsor, will allow each contestant’s personal style to shine in the fitness and health competition. It will bring an entirely new dynamic to the production of this year’s show as it emphasizes the intelligence and health of today’s young women.”

That causes me to raise an eyebrow… and it tells me something about who will be likely to win this year’s pageant.

While Teresa Scanlan has been OUTSTANDING and I mean OUTSTANDING as Miss America 2011, it appears that in 2012, we’re going to see someone who is not a serious, or dare I say, as ‘mature’ as Teresa is (I know – she’s only 18, but she’s way more mature than I am on most days!). Obviously, we’re still going to crown someone who’s capable and confident, someone who’s talented and poised, but we’re going to crown someone who’s a little ‘silly’… a little ‘quirky’… and a little ‘fun’. I know, I know, Teresa has the whole ‘duck tape’ thing going for her (she loves making things out of duck tape and even served as the Grand Marshall for a National Duck Tape parade held earlier this year) – but let’s face it. The girl is mature beyond her years. In 2012, they’re now looking for someone who’s got flair, someone a bit silly, someone who isn’t afraid to be ‘uncool’ or ‘cheesy’ in their own special way… and wrapping it up with the label of ‘a great personality’. 🙂

So – based on our research, here’s who we’re finding that has a bit of this ‘Bold New Direction’ that Miss America says they’re looking for:

– South Carolina. She’s not just the beauty queen who lost 100 pounds, she also does impersonations (Cher and Paula Dean to name a few). That’s got cheesy written all over it.
– Oklahoma. The girl grew up on a dairy farm in a town of 880 people. And she’s a championship Irish Step Dancer (amongst 4, count ’em 4 step dancers this year… more on that later). We say that’s ‘fun’ and brings ‘flair’.
– Kentucky. We weren’t overly impressed with her video, but she’s known Heather French ever since her days in the MAOTeen competition and the families are friends. She’s always grinning ear to ear in her photos and despite the fact that we wish she would’ve taken the video a bit more seriously, we think she’s still a contender with this line of ‘silly’ thinking.
– Missouri. Last we heard, this girl is gonna sing “Dream On” a cappella in a leather bustier for her Talent. Now THAT’S the definition of ‘quirky’ if we ever heard it! She’s so incredibly genuine – if she has a good interview, we think she’s got a serious shot at Top 5.

As I’ve said before… these are my musings and you’re welcome to take them for whatever it’s worth… But when the Press Releases start talking about a ‘Bold New Direction’, it’s my opinion that you best pay attention and prepare to see a different kind of girl.

Anyone think I’m crazy???

Here we are! The first week of January usually signifies something special in the life of pageant girls (at least since this blog began a few years ago)… It’s time for us to begin our journey towards crowning the new Miss America 2012!!! In just a few short days, we’ll have ourselves a New Queen – but between now and then, this is the best place to learn all of the official ‘inside scoop’ on the competition and the crown!

But before we get started on my rantings, let me set a few ground rules. Such rules aren’t typically the way I’d begin a new post, but because so many new followers have recently come through our Facebook Fan page, I thought it might be necessary to ‘Set the Stage’…

1. If you’re one of my long-time friends/family members who has seen my Miss America obsession morph into the web, thanks for hanging in there with me. At least you don’t have to see all this stuff on my personal FB page anymore.

2. If you’ve found this blog because of our official Miss America Junkies Facebook page, then welcome! There’s several year’s worth of commentary that began as simple emails to my closest friends/family on this blog (see right hand side under ‘blog archive 2011, January… trust me, it’s all there). I’m not sure I ever thought I would publish these thoughts beyond emails, so just keep that in mind. “Miss America Junkies” was birthed as a personal way for me to keep in touch with friends/family across the country during Miss America week. Plus – it was hilarious when the Miss America reality shows were all the rage a few years ago!

3. Regardless of how you’ve found this page, you should know these are my personal thoughts and opinions about Miss America. That means, I might say something unfavorable about your state. Truth is, I think I’ve said something unfavorable about every state (so at least there’s equal opportunity offensiveness going on!). 🙂 If you’re looking for cute photos and pithy commentary, then please continue with just the Facebook page. This blog is where I get much more specific and much more opinionated. Sometimes I’m right, sometimes I’m wrong… but the last thing I want is for this blog to be boring. I’m not as bad as Perez Hilton, but I thought I’d at least give you fair warning 🙂

That all being said – The majority of the girls are arriving in Vegas today (January 4th) and their official arrival ceremony starts tomorrow afternoon at Planet Hollywood. As soon as pictures become available, we’ll make sure you see ’em! They say the ceremony will be indoors this year, which is different than years previous (not sure where they’ll host that) – so we’ll let you know. Also, the most disappointing part of this year’s festivities is the fact there will NOT BE A PARADE!!! I’m completely bummed as I think this was a spectacular highlight during the competition week! DSW pulled their sponsorship, which means no shoe parade. Pictures from last year’s event are below should you choose to reminisce…

Otherwise – Enjoy the crazy commentary about to begin via this blog! If you haven’t already viewed the videos of each Miss America contestant, you’re behind! Check ’em out here www.MissAmerica.org/videocontest/ . This is the best place to objectively take a peek at all the girls and determine who’s in it to win it, and who’s a bimbo (and you’ll certainly see both!).

The winner will be crowned live on ABC next Saturday night! Whooooooooooo Hoooooooooooo!!! 🙂

MAJ