via OnMilwaukee.com by Molly Snyder
In November 2015, Krista Knigge fell asleep while watching the news and when she woke up the next day, couldn't remember if "Family Feud" was actually coming to Milwaukee to audition families – or if she had dreamt that.
Turns out, it was true, and Knigge started calling her aunt and cousins. She easily formed a team of five to try out for the game show which included Waukesha's Kelly Steelman, Kelly's husband Chris, cousin Hannah Steen and their aunt, Becky Gutzman.
Gutzman was later replaced by Knigge's husband, Corey Geiger, because her aunt couldn't make the audition due to a blizzard in her northern Wisconsin town.
"Shout-out to Corey for agreeing to be on the show because it was the first day of rifle hunting season," says Kelly.
The auditions took place at the Crowne Plaza near the airport. About 500 people showed up and each family auditioned by playing a mock version of the game with a stand-in talk show host. (Steve Harvey hosts the real television show.)
After their audition, The Knigge family was asked to stay for a second audition. The producers said they were very interested, but they would be in touch. The Knigge family did not hear from them again until July 2016, when they were invited to Atlanta – where the show is taped – for a final audition.
"They made it clear that this was not a guarantee that we'd be on the show, it was a final audition," says Kelly.
The family was flown to Atlanta and reported to the studio the following day. During the final audition, two families were sent home because they were "kinda flat on camera," according to Kelly, but the Knigges made the cut and spent the next 2 1/2 days taping shows.
"These were long, 11-hour days," says Chris. "And we couldn't have our cell phones."
Kelly speculates her family was a fit for the show because they have a mixture of different outgoing personalities. They also have a "country / city" dynamic with family members coming from both rural and urban parts of the state.
More here > Survey says! Local family appears on "Family Feud"