As family members, friends, and others watch on, there were near 40 girls on August 2nd, who came out to the Bank Atlantic Center to see if they had what it took to become a Florida Panthers Ice Dancer.

After a long day of auditions and learning a routine (pardon my dancing lingo), only a few girls were sent home packing, while the remaining 30 were told they were in for a LONG week!

So where do I come into all of this? How do I get a say in who makes this team? Well, gees, who can have a better opinion on how a girl looks on stage, how she can dance, and how many dinners I can take her to? (Well, I have to at least wait until the auditions are done for that!)

As a radio host for 640AM Fox Sports, I had the privilege of being one of the personalities to have a say in who makes the 2008-2009 Florida Panthers Ice Dancers Squad! 

I have been attending hockey games since 1993, many of them in fact. I know what I like to see on the ice... and I also know what I like to see OFF the ice.  There are many features that I look for when jotting down my score, and a note here and there.  To me, personality is key. You just HAVE to have personality! If an Ice Dancer comes up to me in the stands, she just has to know how to speak!  Looks? Well, of course. You just have to look great.  Sure we all meet people and they say "looks aren't everything, it's about what is inside," well, yes, that's true, but NOT when choosing an Ice Dancer!  Fans need eye candy! What happens when the Panthers are down one night 5-0 in the 2nd period? (Hopefully that won't happen this year) The fans need something GREAT to look at! Lastly, an Ice Dancer needs to know how to dance! You can look great, have a great personality, but if you can't dance, you can't get my vote!

This entire week, the remaining Ice Dancers have been through a "boot camp" led by the directors of the squad.  They have the day off today and are preparing for the final auditions, which take place Saturday, August 9th, at Sawgrass Mills Mall, in front of crowd of on-lookers! 

If they stick around until about 3:30pm, they will get to see who had the personality, the good looks, and the dance ability... They will get to see who made the 2008-2009 Florida Panthers Ice Dancers squad...

Oh, and you'll get to see me!

Andy Slater is an on-air radio host for 640AM Fox Sports in South Florida. You can listen to Andy's show this Saturday from 7pm-10pm on WFTL 640AM.

For more information on the show, check out www.theslatershow.com