'Dancing' stars I'm rooting for
Posted: Monday, September 22, 2008 6:00 AM by Gael Fashingbauer Cooper
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TV
"Dancing With the Stars" starts tonight, but really, haven't we all known who we're rooting for since the cast was announced?
If you've watched the show, you know that it helps to be a pro or Olympic athlete (Apolo Anton Ohno, Emmitt Smith, Helio Castroneves), a singer who's danced on stage (Drew Lachey), or, even better, an Olympian whose sport was closely tied to dancing (Kristi Yamaguchi).
If that's going to hold true again this year, the smart money is on Olympic volleyball gold medalist Misty May-Treanor, gold-medal sprinter Maurice Greene, or NFL vet Warren Sapp. But that doesn't mean they'll have the biggest fan base.
May-Treanor might do well -- her Olympic victory is still fresh in viewers' minds. And I admit I'll be rooting for her -- she has her late mom's initials tattooed on her shoulder, and she created one of the most excruciatingly embarrassing moments of the Beijing Games when she invited President George Bush to whack her backside (he smartly declined and patted her back instead).
But I admit it, I'm mostly cheering for the older folks. (I was a John O'Hurley fan, too.) Cloris Leachman is 82, and yet she's in there kicking on a show that has melted actors and athletes one-quarter of her age. You go, Clo!
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Susan Lucci is one of the dancers I'm rooting for.
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At 61, Susan Lucci is 21 years younger than Leachman, but I'm cheering her on, too. She's been Erica Kane on "All My Children" since before most of the pros on "Dancing" were born, and at least from what the public sees, she's always been a class act.
I confess, I have a secret crush on Ted McGinley. Yes, the 50-year-old actor is the unofficial mascot of JumpTheShark.com for a reason -- he wrecks every show he joins -- but I even forgive him for killing "The Love Boat." As long as he doesn't kill "Dancing," I'll be rooting him on.
You just know Lance Bass will be a great dancer -- those 'N Syncers were nothing if not choreography whizzes. He's also paired with Lacey Schwimmer from "So You Think You Can Dance," and yes, I think they can both dance.
I hate to admit it, but I can't root against Chef Rocco DiSpirito. His reality show, "The Restaurant," fascinated me (although I made Mama's famous meatballs out of his cookbook and they were disappointingly bland).
I'm reserving judgment on most of the rest of the cast. This season is taking the term "Stars" pretty loosely...Brooke Burke? Jeffrey Ross? Cody Linley?)
But I'll tell you who I'm rooting against, fairly or unfairly: Kim Kardashian. She's an egregious example of someone who's famous for being famous, and why she has a reality show, or why anyone would ever watch it, is one of the world's great mysteries to me.
Who are you rooting for -- or against -- on "Dancing With the Stars"? You can also vote here for your favorites, and here for your least faves.
