"Gentlemen, start your engines."
Welcome to "Charm City", also known as Baltimore, Maryland and host to this year's exciting Miss USA® competition! Fifty-one gorgeous contestants from across the US will compete for the crown. During the NBC live broadcast, the Top 15 will be announced and will compete in a glamorous evening gown competition. The esteemed panel of judges will then pick the Top 10 who will showcase their beauty and athleticism in swimsuit competition. The unpredictable and entertaining event culminates with the crowning of Miss USA® 2005.
I liked pageants more when they were more honest and politically incorrect. Nowadays, they put a pretty girl in a swimsuit out there, and then ask you to forget that you just saw a pretty girl in a swimsuit, instead chattering endlessly about the scholarships involved, the community service stuff the winners must do, etc.
I'm sure the young ladies are very nice and smart, and I would be awed by them if I knew them personally. But as a mere viewer, I am not enthralled with the concept anymore. The last pageant I got excited about watching was the Miss Hawaiian Tropic one. There's no scholarship (to my knowledge), no pretentiousness, just hot babes in skimpy bikinis winning cold hard cash.
Sue me.
Did I win yet ?