The press booth was filled with reporters from the smallest of small town papers, sent to cover their local girl's moment in the sun ("How often does a girl from Tracy, California wind up on national television?", said one excited Jimmy Olsen type). They were all dressed up as well, and totally caught up in the whole pageant vibe — save NYC/LA based reps from the major media outlets, who were all defiantly wearing t-shirts and black leather sports coats to make sure everyone knew that they were too-hip-for-this-bullshit, MA-AN (just like Donny and Marie! Cool!).

We all were weighing odds on who would win. I was still betting on Miss California, but these three goofy teenage boys from a radio show called "Teen Talk USA" were not only rooting for Miss Illinois, they were also madly in love with her. "She's, like, totally funny and stuff. You could, like, totally TALK to her and stuff." A documentary filmmaker confirmed their assessment: "Miss Illinois is AWESOME," he said.

But a woman reporter who knew a thing or two about pageants said she didn't have a chance. "Miss Illinois has too much HAIR," she opined. "It would never hold up if they elected her Miss America, the way they run her ragged all over the country from one fundraiser to the next."

It turns out our resident hair expert was correct, since we soon learned that Miss Illinois didn't even make it as a finalist. The Teen Talk guys were ready to trash the place. "She's still OUR Miss America!" they declared.