WHAT HINES WARD TAUGHT US ABOUT DANCING

When Pittsburgh Steeler Hines Ward walked off with the mirror ball trophy on Dancing with the Stars last night, there was a collective testosterone shift in the male species across America.   True, the Super Bowl MVP had the weekly voting support of the entire "Steeler Nation" but he also showed some amazing moves on the dance floor that even impressed head judge Len Goodman.

Ward was the second NFL player to win the title, legendary running back Emmit Smith won in 2006.  But Smith is a smallish (for NFL standards) running back who made his living running away from defensive players who were trying to tackle him.  Not so with Ward, who has made a career of not only catching touchdown passes, but also for his crushing blocks on opposing players. He is feared and respected as a tough player who could plant your face into the turf and emerge with his trademark smile.

My guess is that women all over the country are going to have a much easier time dragging their men to ballroom dancing classes this summer.  Hines Ward not only made it look easy, but he made it look "manly and macho"unlike the professional male dancers on the show.  Most men see ballroom dancing as a bit too feminine for them, but Ward dissolved that myth by showing us you can be strong yet graceful, powerful yet nimble and courageous yet humble.

But the reason that millions of women would line up TODAY to marry Hines Ward is what they learned about him when he wasn't on the dance floor.  In the human interest stories the show produces about its guest stars, we found out that Hines Ward was born in Korea to a military man and a Korean national.  His mother brought him to this country to seek a better life for him though she had no work skills and couldn't speak English.  They struggled through his childhood and he was determined to make a better life for his mother by making it as a professional athlete.  He attributes his success and toughness to a mother who scraped out a meager living to give him the opportunities he needed to rise to the top of his field.

During rehearsals, it was clear that he had great chemistry with his partner, Kym Johnson, a testament to his comfort in taking direction from a woman.  When Kym was injured during a rehearsal, he took responsibility for the mishap and cried openly on national television when they rallied back to the top of the leader board the following week.   And when he won the trophy at the end of the competition, he gave all the credit to Kym Johnson.

The attraction to ballroom dancing for most women is romance. Everyone likes the exercise and doing something with a partner is great, but I think the average woman fantasizes about being whisked about the dance floor by someone like Hines Ward or Maksim Chmerkovskly.  Many of the standard ballroom dances like the rumba, tango, samba and paso doble are all very sexual in nature.   Dancing judge, Bruno Tonioli says "when the dances are done right, it's all about the transfer of sexual energy."

I think most men resist ballroom dancing because their egos won't allow them to look clumsy and uncoordinated in front of their woman.   The dances are also designed for the men to "lead"and that's a lot of responsibility for someone who doesn't want to be there in the first place.  

But maybe if romance and "the transfer of sexual energy" isn't enough motivation to lace up the dancing shoes, Hines Ward showed us that being a great dancer takes skill and concentration, but being a great partner takes devotion, compassion and a big dose of love.