Nine out of the 23 seasons of Dancing with the Stars have been won by professional athletes and I’m going to put my money on the chance that this season will be another.
This season’s contestants on Dancing with the Stars were announced just a few days ago and 5 out of the 11 celebrities are professional athletes. The list includes Bonner Bolton, who has been paired with pro partner Sharna Burgess. Before his accident, Bolton was the world’s No. 1 bull rider. After hanging up his cleats in 2016, Chicago Cubs David Ross went from the ball field to the dance floor. He was on the 2016 World Series champions the Chicago Cubs and has been paired with Lindsay Arnold.
Professional ice skater Nancy Kerrigan is going to be paired with Artem Chigvintsev while she dances for a disco ball trophy. NFL running back Rashad Jennings set career highs in carries, rushing yards, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns in 2015 and now he hopes to dance to the finish line with pro partner Emma Slater.
Last year, her teammate Laurie Hernandez took home the disco ball trophy, so the pressure is on Simone Biles, who became an Olympic Gold gymnast in vault, floor, individual, and team all-around at the 2016 Rio Olympics. She’ll be paired with pro partner Sasha Farber, and will hope to keep the Olympic luck going.
It’s my opinion that some athletes have a bigger advantage than other contestants. Take Simone Biles, for example, who is much more flexible and more graceful already than other contestants, such as Mr. T and SNL alum Chris Kattan. Of course, athletes haven’t had to rely on either someone else leading them or being led by them as they walk or run. However, skaters and gymnasts tend to take dancing lessons when they are younger so it’s a one-up already, in my opinion.
Looking back at the previous sports-related winners, there’s Season 18 winner Olympic gold medalist Meryl Davis who was paired with Dancing with the Stars pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy. Then, of course, there was my man, from the Green Bay Packers, Donald Driver, who beat out the competition to win Season 14.
In Season 12, Pittsburgh Steelers Hines Ward brought home the bling trophy, even after his partner – Kym Johnson – had a scary neck injury during the season. In Season 3, former Dallas Cowboy superstar Emmitt Smith and his partner Cheryl Burke dazzled the voters all the way to a championship.
The amazing Shawn Johnson, an Olympic Gold medalist who is a real-life Energizer bunny, blew away the competition to win her season, while another Olympian and figure skating champion, Kristi Yamaguchi won as well. Race car driver, Helio Castroneves and his partner Julianne Hough, won season five of Dancing with the Stars, and who can forget Apolo Anton Ohno’s win, which was also with Julianne Hough.
So where am I going with this? I think one of the professional athletes will be strong enough to win the top prize compared to the other contestants. Of course, I haven’t seen any of them dance yet or seen the chemistry they have with their partner. Like any competition, that chemistry is important when it comes to deciding on a winner. Also, how a pair does will come down to how good the choreography is, which has nothing to do with the athletes. Horrible choreography can completely destroy a couple, no matter how good they can dance.
Who are they competing against?
Former “Glee” star and Beyoncé backup dancer Heather Morris, who is a strong contender to take it away from one of the athletes, especially with her background and being paired with Maksim Chmerkovskiy.
“Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” cast member Erika Jayne, who is paired with Gleb Savchenko. I don’t know much about her so it will be interesting to see how she does.
Fifth Harmony member Normani Kordei is known for dance moves and she’s paired with Max’s brother Valentin Chmerkovskiy, so I think she also has an advantage. “Rocky 3” star Mr. T is paired with the very talented Kym Johnson Herjavec, who danced her now husband, Shark Tank’s Robert Herjavec, pretty far in Season 20. I honestly don’t think that Mr. T is going to go very far though. Maybe 2 or 3 weeks.
Okay, then there’s legendary singer Charo, who still has some wiggle left to show at 66 years old. Granted, the more legendary (read, older) celebrities haven’t done too well, but she’ll be fun to watch.
Speaking of fun to watch, I’m not sure if I can take former “SNL” star Chris Kattan, who will be paired with Witney Carson, seriously on the show. He’s always such a goofball, so I’ll have to see how he handles this.
Right now, without even seeing a show, I’d put my money on Simone Biles, but the expectations are going to be high for her. The new season premieres March 20 on ABC.
