The Junkies take on the Judges...

WHOOOOOO HOOOOOO!!!  We made it!!!  The Competition begins on MONDAY - Can you believe it?  It's finally here - And it couldn't come soon enough for me...  Earlier today, our TV was going back and forth between 'Duck Dynasty' and 'Gator Boys'... LOL!  I'd say that's a sure-fire sign that I'm desperately in need of some good-old-fashioned glitz and glamor, pageant-girl stuff... PLEASE AND THANK YOU!!! :)

We begin Monday with Contestant Interviews... 35 girls will be interviewed for 10 minutes with 7 judges all day tomorrow... Here's the order in which the judges will see them:

Why is the order important?  Well... it depends on how quickly our judges 'warm up' to their jobs (i.e., are they asking the girls about their favorite color or their take on the Presidential election?).  Last year, only 2 girls from the far left column even made it into the Top 15 (however to be fair, the year before saw 6 girls make it from the far left column).  I'm guessing this panel of judges is going to be on the ball from the get-go... so each girl is going to have the opportunity to advance (rather than the judges wasting the first 15 interviews trying to get the hang of it).  Speaking of Judges... let's go there now...

Here's my personal 'short summary' on this year's judges and what I think they bring to the Table (if you prefer their official biographies, you can find them here at this link on the Miss America website).

Bradley Bayou - Big Fashion Designer, his daughter struggled with an eating disorder so he's into healthy eating, and I see him as a 'sash state' kind of guy (meaning, states with a successful pageant track record should do well with him).

Cheryl Burke - DWTS mega-star, best choreographer on the show IMHO - which means she wants to be entertained with dance, not just see technical ability, from San Francisco, hope-less romantic, likes the 'party-atmosphere' of Vegas.

Sam Champion - TV guy for 25 years, announced his engagement to his partner on national television (they were married in December), is very 'fit', snazzy dresser, works with many different charitable organizations.  Sam's also 'hanging out' at rehearsals from what we can see... which means he's paying attention 'behind the scenes' and will have more exposure to the girls than the other judges will have.

Daymond John - Branding Genius, looking for market-ability, HUGE first impression guy, has an entire speech he delivers called, 'Going Toe to Toe with the Big Boys' which tells me - he'll want someone who can 'hold their own' and not just get away with being 'pretty' or 'cute'.

Mary Hart - Former Miss South Dakota (Top 10 at Miss America 1970), speaks Danish and Swedish fluently, Interview skills must be top notch.  And even though she's been in Hollywood a long-time, I think she's still a mid-west, back-to-basics girl at heart (Divas should beware... I'll bet she can spot a high-maintenance chick a mile away).

McKayla Maroney - Understands dedication and high pressure... some people buckle under that pressure and others push through it. Might have a 'stereotype' or a picture in her mind of who Miss America should be... young, but knows what it's like to be thrust into the media spotlight without warning.

Katie Stam-Irk - "America's Sweetheart" as MA 2009, Prelim Swimsuit Winner and Darling of the organization.  Been there, done that, has the T-Shirt... and if they're trying to find another 'Katie Stam' then why not put her on the panel.

Judges Summary = While I see this as an over-all 'left-leaning panel'... that doesn't automatically mean we'll get a "Liberal" for a Queen.  The year Chris Matthews was a judge, they crowned Jesus-loving Lauren Nelson.  The year Rush Limbaugh was a judge, they crowned AIDS advocate Caressa Cameron.  So if your favorite state is a 'dyed in the wool' Conservative, there's no need panic... we just have to see who is able to connect with various types of people one-on-one.

More to come!  GOOD LUCK to all the Contestants preparing for Interviews on Monday!  We're just a few days away from crowning Miss America 2013!!!  Who Will She Be???

MAJ