Morast: 'Idol' a fantasy for some

You might think you're a hardcore "American Idol" fan, watching every episode like is was an important session of British Parliament, predicting what the judges are going to say, drinking out of a red Coke glass a la Simon Cowell.

But are you taking notes during the early rounds of "Idol" to ensure you know the details and artistic choice of every contestant? Are you predicting who's going home each week with accuracy? Are you in an "Idol" fantasy league?

If not, you've got nothing on Amy Rogne and some of her co-workers at Lillestol Research in Fargo.

For the past three seasons of America's favorite talent show, Rogne and her co-workers have done with "Idol" what so many armchair quarterbacks have done with football by making a fantasy league out of the singing show that launched the careers of Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson and - unfortunately - Clay Aiken.

"It's awesome," says Rogne, one of the more personable people in the Fargo-Moorhead area. "Kim Peterson and her brother Kris Lillestol, they started the 'American Idol' league."

Since then, it's become more than a pastime for Rogne, who says she accurately predicted Paige Miles' exit from the show this week.

Here's how the league works, with a little help from the Web site www.funofficepools.com:

Once "Idol" has announced its top 36 or 24 contestants, the fun starts. From there, each league participant is given 20 points every week. The goal is to pick the person or people who will be eliminated by assigning them your points. You earn back points to your running tally if your picks are correct.

For instance, this week Rogne was certain that Miles would be kicked to the curb. So she assigned all 20 of her points to Miles and earned them all back toward her season total. However, if Rogne had been uncertain about the outcome, she could have spread out the 20 points to multiple "Idol" singers.

"Everybody in my office is so into it," Rogne says. "But this year, I'm not going to lie, this year sucks."

She's not talking about the league, but the talent of this year's potential "Idols."

And Rogne's not alone with that opinion. Music and TV blogs all over the Internet are ragging on this season's singers, like Tim Urban, the cute teen who can't hold a note but seems to smile sunshine that beams directly into the hearts of tween girls.

"I mean get him off right now. He's so bad," Rogne says. "There's a lot of little 13-year-olds out there voting for Tim Urban, and they don't know what they're doing."

But knowing those kind of details is part of the reason she's sitting third in her "Idol" fantasy league.

So what else is she thinking?

Well, Rogne's prediction for the "Idol's" final four are the quirky but compelling Siobhan Magnus, whose eyeglasses are bigger than her voice; Michael Lynche, the big daddy; Lee Dewyze, the modest and shy guy with a raspy voice; and Crystal Bowersox, whose passionate voice and folk-rock appeal have made her an unexpected favorite.

Bowersox is also Rogne's pick to win it all because the dreadlocked singer is the only one with "real star power."

But will she win? Tough to call, Rogne says, citing Magnus as a possible victor.

One thing's easy to predict, though. Rogne and her fellow hardcore "Idol" fan co-workers will be taking notes during next week's episodes.

Readers can reach Forum Features Editor Robert Morast at (701) 241-5518 or rmorast@forumcomm.com