From the Gridiron to the Ballroom: Emmitt Smith on His ‘Dancing with the Stars’ Return and Season 3 Triumph

As the NFL’s all-time rushing yards and rushing touchdowns leader, Dallas Cowboys legend and Pro Football Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith knows all about time and moving quickly.

Smith doesn’t need a reminder about how fast time flies, but the longtime fans of Dancing with the Stars may want to know this: It’s already been 20 years since the NFL icon won Season 3 of the legendary ABC reality competition show with professional ballroom dancer Cheryl Burke.

Now in its 35th season, Dancing with the Stars held “Dedication” Night for Week 6 on Tuesday night. Smith partnered with AT&T, Dancing with the Stars‘ official voting partner, to celebrate the show’s legacy and connection with fans.

In an exclusive interview with Men’s Journal, the three-time Super Bowl champion reflected on how DWTS compared to his playing days on the football field, the Season 3 triumph and his partnership with AT&T.

The Parallel Worlds of Football and Ballroom

Comparing the pressure of performing on a football field in front of thousands of screaming fans to Dancing with the Stars, Smith said he felt more in control with football. In contrast with dancing, there was the worry of being “embarrassed” if he didn’t perform well.

“Well, to be honest with you, two different kinds of comparisons,” Smith said. “Because I’ve played football, as long as I can remember. Dancing was something different. I was never embarrassed about what I did on the football field unless I made mistakes. But dancing, you could be embarrassed by not looking good, not performing well, and so forth. So you can easily embarrass yourself. That’s something completely different.”

Sure enough, practice made perfect for Smith. The NFL icon and Burke won Season 3, defeating Saved by the Bell star Mario Lopez and professional ballroom dancer Karina Smirnoff in the finals.

“Football, I was in control of what I was doing,” Smith added. “And dancing, I had to learn how to control and perform at a level that would make people feel like I understood what I was doing. Not only that, but I can actually dance.

“I don’t want to say I mastered it, but I got pretty close to mastering it. The other one, I got to the point where I could perform on a Tuesday night or Monday night and do it on a consistent basis to where I was able to have fun and relax and enjoy the moment, but yet, pull off the dance.”

Inspiration From Two Other Sports Icons

Smith turned down offers to compete in the first two seasons of Dancing with the Stars before signing up for the third season.

The 1993 NFL MVP revealed that he was inspired to give it a go after seeing fellow Pro Football icon Jerry Rice (season two) and boxing legend Evander Holyfield (season one) on the show.

“Watching Jerry influenced that choice big time,” Smith said. “Watching Evander Holyfield in season one also went into the decision for me to do season three…I know I can dance, I can dance better than Jerry Rice. In my mind, that’s what I was saying.”

They may have been rivals on the football field during the glory days of the Cowboys-49ers rivalry in the ’90s, yes. But ultimately, Rice was instrumental in convincing Smith to give Dancing with the Stars a shot.

“I had to reach out to Jerry before I even committed to doing the show to find out what the show was all about,” Smith continued. “I leaned on Jerry for that advice, and Jerry gave me the advice, and that helped. “It gave me a chance to connect with an audience that I otherwise probably wouldn’t have connected with.”

Smith also embraced the show’s voting aspect, citing how it “knocked down walls of limitations”. By that, Smith meant receiving votes from fans of the Cowboys’ bitter rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles.

“If you were a Philadelphia Eagles fan and you hate the Dallas Cowboys? Even the Philadelphia Eagles fans found themselves on the phone calling and dialing in and voting for Emmitt Smith,” he said. “I mean, I hear it all the time (in) different places where I go, how people don’t like the Cowboys yet.

“They love me. That’s cool. And it’s probably because of Dancing with the Stars…never offended by it. I think it represents the ability to go beyond the game. And that’s what it did for me.”

Fancy Footwork: How the Gridiron Groomed Smith for the Ballroom

Smith also credited his background as an NFL running back with his lower body agility, footwork and flow on the dance floor.

“Yeah, no doubt, and that’s what I try to tell people,” Smith said. “On the football field, a running back runs with grace, style, and power…to be able to do all three of those things at different points in time. There’s times when you don’t need power, but you need a whole lot of grace.

“Then there’s times when you need when you have to have power and you don’t— you can’t use grace or finesse. Then there’s times when you gotta use all three of them at one time, so dancing is kind of the same way. You don’t bring intensity into the ballroom when you’re doing the walks. You bring a smile, you bring a lightness, you bring a joy, you bring a certain kind of happiness.”

Smith also explained that different dances require different mindsets.

“To a pasodoble, you bring the intensity of fighting the bull, of a matador,” he said. “The mindset is different, but it requires a lot of different things when you’re doing the samba and the rumba. You bring this, this— you lower down that masculinity and bring in that, that sensual self and that fluidity of the body motion and so forth…dance goes so many different directions.”

‘It’s a Connection of Me and My Past’

Speaking about his partnership with AT&T, Smith said that the focus is on connecting people to the moments and relationships that matter most to them.

“First and foremost, most people move just to stay connected to their family and their friends and their business associates and partners, etc.,” he said. “A lot of us on Dancing with the Stars are connected through movement, dancing on the floor. And then football, moving the ball down the field or stopping opponents from moving so you can get the ball back and continue to move the ball down the field.

“In life, people try to move themselves forward. And become better by just moving forward. (The) overall arching theme connected to the moments that move us the most is really what this message is all about from AT&T. Through dance, you can connect to the moments that move you the most on the dance floor…and those are moments that help people move to the phone and pick up the phone and want to dial and vote for somebody. And so that’s what this is all about. It’s a connection of me and my past. And moments back in my past; now I’m in the present. And what moves us right now to this day and what’s helping us move things forward.”

Season 35 of Dancing with the Stars will conclude on Nov. 24.

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