Dancing with the Tears?

OK, we all know by now I’m an emotional person. The slightest sad, happy, touching, inspiring, scary moment can bring a tear to my eyes. Jeff calls me his little leaker. Nice, I know. One strange thing that ALWAYS gets me to cry is Dancing With the Stars. How does that even happen? Well, I’ll tell you how. Let’s take a look at some of the stars this season.

Ty Murray. A cowboy. Supposed to be all rugged and rough and tumble, right? I mean, he rides bulls for pete’s sake! Did you see him, though? He was NOT very good. More importantly, he was SO NERVOUS! He seemed like a timid little 8 year old. I loved every second of it. And after the judges criticized him, he said something to the effect of “no, they’re right, I messed up, I was nervous.” He seemed so sweet and lovable. And so I cried.

Steve-O. OK, this guy would not normally get my emotions going. He’s the star of Jackass. As stupid show about stupid boys pulling stupid stunts. So what’s the catch? He is in rehab. He’s cleaning up his life of drugs and alcohol. And Dancing with the Stars is a way to show that you can be clean and still have “mojo”. He didn’t have much rhythm, but he did a good job. He tried hard. He put himself on the line. And so I cried.

Denise Richards. Whoa. So not a fan. Don’t like her attitude (off of DWTS, that is), a little jealous of her, I’m sure. Why on earth would I shed tears for her? Because behind that gorgeous exterior and tough act, she is sensitive. Max made her cry. She said she felt stupid. Poor thing. No one wants to be made to feel stupid. She and Max figured out how to work together and she gave it her best shot. She seemed nervous in front of the judges. But with every criticism she just smiled and said “okay.” Like she was going to take what they said to heart and work on it for next time. And so I cried.

Steve Wozniak. Hello, the cutest man of all time. He is a genius. Literally. Co-founded Apple with Steve Jobs. He doesn’t stop smiling-ever. I love it! He is a bit uncoordinated. But look at how new this experience is for him! He’s really putting himself out on a limb! And he’s having a great time. After hearing what the judges had to say, which weren’t that positive, he just said “I’m having the most fun I’ve ever had in my life!” with a huge smile on his face. So SWEET! And so I cried.

I think what it is about this show that gets me is how vulnerable these people are making themselves. It seems different than American Idol, where the contestants already think or know they can sing well. Some of these folks KNOW they can’t dance well. And yet they want to give it a shot. Try something new. It’s clearly not for the money or fame. They are already rich and famous. So they do what they aren’t good at. They get judged and criticized, sometimes harshly, and you can see in their eyes, or tell by their defensive tones that they are hurt. They are trying hard out there! They are inspirational! If only we could all do something so out of the box. Learn something new. Meet new people. Get healthy. Have fun. Take risks! Be willing to mess up in order to take a chance at success. They are inspirational! And so I cry :)