HOLY COW JUNKIES –
The only word I can come up with is SHELL-SHOCKED!!!!
CONGRATULATIONS TO MISS AMERICA 2018 –
CARA MUND!!!
Now, when I use the word Shell-shocked, I’m talking about WAY more than the runners up or the winner – I’m talking about the WHOLE FREAKING PAGEANT!!!
You guys – I actually ENJOYED watching the pageant this year! I LOVED the intros – I LOVED the ladies talking about their scholastic experience – I LOVED (most of) the camera angles – I LOVED seeing Savvy walk the entire runway during her farewell – I LOVED Sage and Chris as co-hosts – I even LOVED the EXTRA QUESTION round this year!!! Overall, I’m giving a BIG thumbs up to the production – I was on the edge of my seat ALL NIGHT LONG!!!
Now – This pageant certainly didn’t disappoint when it came to surprising contestants either!
– Miss New Mexico makes the cut for only the 2nd time since 1986
– Miss Alaska makes the Top 15 for the first time since 1998
– Miss North Dakota makes the cut for the first time since 1997 (minus a judges’ choice award for Jacky Arness 3 years ago) – And goes on to be named the first Miss America from North Dakota in history!!!
Now – You might think my use of the term “Shell-Shocked” is negative – BUT NOTHING COULD BE FARTHER FROM THE TRUTH!!! In fact, somewhere out there in the digital universe, there’s a slightly unflattering video of me, JUMPING UP AND DOWN with massive amounts of excitement mixed with equal parts of disbelief, that CARA just won the title!!! I KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS TO SMALL STATES/NON-SASH STATES – And I simply couldn’t contain my joy (it’s actually quite embarrassing, but it happened!)!!! I couldn’t be more THRILLED regarding the final outcome of the whole gosh darn thing – But I’m also the first to admit, I DIDN’T SEE IT COMING!!!
Cara is spectacular – But just like WAY too many of us – I got caught up in the “normal way” pageants typically work out… Miss America typically crowns a certain type of young woman – and let’s be honest, she doesn’t always come from states like North Dakota, Alaska or New Mexico.
But yesterday, she did!
AND I COULD NOT BE HAPPIER FOR HER!!!
And now – Besides the fact that “small states CAN perform well at Miss America” – What else did we learn last night??? Here’s a few thoughts…
Outstanding Teen Still Matters
Your Top 15 included 7 ladies who had earned their state’s Outstanding Teen title – VA, PA, TX, AL, AK, ND, NJ. If you want to gain valuable experience to prepare you for your state title and eventual trip to Miss America, start competing in the MAOTeen system stat! Three of the Top 5 were former OT state winners (NJ, ND, TX) and this is the second year in a row that Miss America has crowned a former Outstanding Teen state titleholder (Savvy and Cara).
Interview Matters
I saw a post inside a Facebook Forum that stated an idea which I think has a pretty decent amount of merit to it… The idea was, while each contestant is being announced into the Top 15, the audience should see some sort of “Interview Score” flashed on the screen – That way, we’d have some sort of idea how well they fared in that portion of the competition. It doesn’t strike me as an awful idea – especially since the VAST MAJORITY of Miss America’s year is spent speaking to the public.
If that’s not possible, then by all means, PLEASE continue with the “extra question” round of competition!!! It was a WONDERFUL way to showcase each contestant’s personality and give us a little bit of insight into her ability to win over the judges during her 10 minute interview… And next time, I’ll pay more attention to how articulate each contestant is during her 15 seconds!
Prelim Winners Don’t Matter
Look – Even I was shocked to only see TWO out of FIVE prelim winners make it into the top 15 (TX an LA). And even with that – the highest finish of any prelim winner was that of 4th runner up!
Here’s the lesson to be learned – JUST BECAUSE I CAN PICK A PRELIM WINNER – It doesn’t make her the next Miss America!!! OBVIOUSLY – LOL!!! Not to over-use a word, but I was SHELL-SHOCKED to see two prelim talent winners and 1 prelim swimsuit winner on the sidelines after all was said and done. And for everyone entering a pageant this year, just remember – YOU DON’T HAVE TO WIN A PRELIM TO WIN THE WHOLE THING! It’s just not necessary – and the Top 5 proved it tonight!
Finally, here’s a couple of points of “minor interest” that are still rumbling through my head as I write this at 1:00am…
Anyone else wondering what Missouri was saying to North Dakota right before they announced the winner…? I’ve got lots of Junkies in Missouri – Totally curious – That’s all…
Did anyone else catch the “Pre-Show” on Facebook live before the pageant started??? What a Freaking Fabulous idea! I LOVED seeing the judges, some former Miss America’s and others give a whole “red carpet runway” feel to the event! If you haven’t seen it yet – check it out on the Miss America Facebook page – EXCELLENT CHOICE!!!
OK – This may sound crazy, but I actually LIKED seeing the reactions from the judges this time around… I don’t know what was different (because in previous years, I haven’t been a fan), but this year, I though it totally kept the show interesting. Maybe judges need to be told to offer a little more reaction/personality… Because personally, seeing a judges’ face after a question, or during their talent, actually made the whole show more interesting!
How much money did “It’s a 10” Haircare have to spend to get THAT MUCH time on the air during a live telecast??? Goodness Gracious… I’m hoping pageant girls around the nation are flocking to their products because whew – That’s gotta be a lot of de-tangler to see an ROI…
Finally – Junkies did not have our best night with overall predictions this year… We ended up 8 for 15, 5 for 10, and 1 for 5. However – our tiny consolation came from our ability to predict Iowa, Minnesota, Colorado all non-finalist talent wins – and we flip-flopped Utah and New Mexico (predicting UT to be in top 15, but NM to win a non-finalist talent award – when it was the other way around!).
So – Once again – Even though it’s one o’clock in the morning as I finish typing this blog, I am still SHELL-SHOCKED in the BEST WAY POSSIBLE that tonight turned out the way it did! Seriously! Ladies – DO NOT COUNT YOURSELVES OUT of the game – just because you think you weren’t born in the “right state” – or don’t have a sponsor to help you with the “right clothes” – or you don’t think the “powers that be” will ever pay attention to you because of some other silly reason…
The truth is, Miss America SHINES from within.
It’s not about the name on her sash. It’s not about what she wears or even whether or not she takes home a prelim award. When you come in contact with Miss America, all those things go out the window.
It’s about a young woman’s ability to SHINE from within!
And I for one, look forward to seeing Cara shine all year long!!!
#BigJunkieLove
Carrie Lakey
Carrie Lakey is kind of obsessed with Miss America…
So are 22,000 of her closest friends.
As an avid fan of the Miss America Organization, Carrie began
publicly predicting pageant winners over 10 years ago.
Now, she’s galvanizing an online movement of fans
known as “Pageant Junkies”.
Learn more about the Junkie Nation
by clicking here.
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