Green Bay Packers receiver Donald Driver won the ABC Dance competition Dancing with the Stars Tuesday night. The victory came off the performance of a country-themed freestyle routine that wowed the audience and the judges alike.
Only one point separated the three finalists, and it came down to the audience vote to decide the winner. Opera singer Katherine Jenkins and actor William Levy earned perfect scores for the final performance, but only Jenkins came into the final round with a perfect score, 60. Driver and Levy each had 59. When the ball dropped, Driver and dance partner Peta Murgatroyd emerged victorious. The final tallies put Jenkins in second and Levy in third.
“I would have to say it was a miracle,” Driver said of the win. “We did what we had to do on the floor, and we knew we had to leave it up to the judges and the fans. The fans made the decision, and the fans loved our freestyle last night. I think the freestyle put us on top, and after that, there was no looking back.”
Driver, who already has a Super Bowl ring, can now add dance champion to his list of accomplishments. He is the third pro football to win the top prize, following Emmit Smith and Heinz Ward. Who knew playing football came with a preternatural proclivity for ballroom dancing.
The season finale took place during a two hour special. This season’s former contestants Martina Navratilova, Gavin DeGraw, Jack Wagner, Jaleel White, Sherri Shepherd, Melissa Gilbert, Roshon Fegan, Maria Menounos and Gladys Knight joined in for one last dance. Gladys Knight also sung “The Way We Were”, and was joined by a performance from Kelly Clarkson.
The next edition of Dancing With the Stars will feature contestants from previous seasons.
[source: huff post}