For the first time since I began this little blog-writing venture, I'm about to delve into the world of reality television.
The hit TV show, "Dancing With The Stars," has just finished its 12th season, with Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward winning the competition on Tuesday Night. The premise for this show was to have non-dancers paired with professional dancers to compete in a competition to determine which non-dancers could improve the most over the course of the show. The idea that these "non-dancers" would be a little awkward was part of the intrigue of many that decided to tune in. That was all fine and dandy, until ABC decided to start casting athletes, most still active in their sports, in each season. I'd like to say that the game has changed, but unfortunately, it's been that way from the start.
The first season of the show debuted back in 2005 with only six pairs competing. One of those six competitors was former World Heavyweight Champion Evander Holyfield. Holyfield was eliminated after the second week, but his appearance paved the way for the future athletes that would appear. To me, bringing professional and/or amateur athletes into the mix seemed to be an unfair concept. I personally wouldn't have watched the show consistently anyway, but when I first heard about the show back in 2005, I was under the impression that the contestants would actually be those people with little to know athletic ability, in order to see what weeks of training with a professional dancer would do for them. What America has seen is slew of athletic competitors making it nearly impossible for anyone else to compete.
In the 12 seasons that "Dancing With The Stars" has been on, six of the twelve winners have been athletes, whether they be professional (Ward, Emmitt Smith, Helio Castroneves) or amateur (Apolo Anton Ohno, Krisit Yamaguchi, Shawn Johnson). That might not seem so bad, only having 50% of the winners be from the world of sports, but when you look at the top three finalists from each season, you can add another seven people from the sports landscape. Since this blog is about sports, I don't want to dive into the rest of the casts...however, of the other six winners that weren't athletes, three were performing artists in bands or groups that danced, and another starred in the movie "Dirty Dancing." Sure seems to be that the winners seem to have a distinct athletic advantage over other competitors.
I'm probably in the minority here, but for some reason, I'm irked by the fact that athletes are taking part in this competition. In a few cases such as Hines Ward's, the athlete is still competing in their sport while they are on the show. What this brings into the equation, especially for professional athletes, is the injury factor. Fortunately, there have not been any professional athletes under contract that have injured themselves as of yet. In 2008, volleyball star Misty May-Treanor ruptured her achilles tendon during practice and had to withdraw from the show, but that is the only serious injury that any athlete performing on the show has endured. The fact that it happened, however, probably has many owners and general managers concerned.
When a show such as "Dancing With The Stars" becomes as popular as it has, it brings a certain following to some that may not have much of one. In 2007, Indy Car driver Helio Castroneves won the "Dancing" crown, which brought a man, otherwise unknown outside the race world, a huge boost in popularity. The following year, in 2008, the Indianapolis 500 saw it's ratings rise. That ratings boost could almost directly be attributed to the prime-time appearance of one of IndyCar's best drivers. So, is it a bad thing that certain athletes are partaking in the show? Not always. However, being an IndyCar driver is a lot different than, say, playing wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals. Other than being an attention hog, people like Chad "Ochocinco" Johnson don't have much need at all to be on the show. He, like other professional athletes, already have plenty of notoriety from their sport that they shouldn't need the extra attention of a prime-time show like "Dancing." And really, is the prize money and the trophy worth the potential injury looming out there?
All told, the show will remain one of ABC most popular. The ratings continue to be huge and it doesn't seem to be slowing down soon. You can also be assured that athletes will continue to be featured. I guess I would just find the competition more interesting if the people dancing had almost no athletic ability whatsoever. That, to me, would be impressive. I mean, seriously, what would've been a better story for this season: Hines Ward winning the trophy, or Kirstie Alley? You could almost be assured that if Kirstie had won, she would be plastered on just about every magazine cover in the checkout line at the grocery store. Ward, though? He might be lucky to get a mere mention in Sports Illustrated for his new championship.
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