LAST DANCE FOR ROSS
“Grandpa Rossy” comes up short in “Dancing with the Stars” finale
Was there a goat hiding somewhere in the studio?
For retired Cubs catcher David Ross, his quest for another championship trophy came to an end Tuesday when he failed to become the Season 24 champ of “Dancing with the Stars.” One of three finalists on the hit ABC series, Ross and partner Lindsay Arnold finished in second place behind the winning duo of NFL running back Rashad Jennings and his partner Emma Slater. Finishing in third place were Fifth Harmony’s Normani Kordei and her partner Val Chmerkovskiy.
The final competitive performances fell into the category of 24- hour Fusion Challenge. Each pair had 24 hours ( from Monday night’s round) to learn an entirely new routine combining two disparate dance styles, which they had previously danced this season.
Heading into Tuesday night, Ross was solidly third behind secondplace Kordei and first- place Jennings in judges’ scores totals. In terms of fan votes ( ABC does not reveal total votes cast), however, Ross simply blew past the others, a trend that sustained him all season long as each week Cubs nation voted their World Series champ onto another episode.
In the competitive round, Ross and Arnold were tasked with dancing a foxtrot/ salsa fusion. The stylized routine brought praises from the judges’ panel, where head judge Len Goodman remarked, “Dancing is a joyful thing and watching you dance has brought me joy.” “Whatever happens tonight, to me you are already the people’s champion,” judge Bruno Tonioli said. Ross’ final score: 36 out of 40.
Kordei and Chmerkovskiy performed an Argentine tango/ foxtrot fusion for their final dance. Their final score: 40 out of 40.
Jennings and Slater came out swinging with their tango/ salsa fusion, which earned a 39 out of 40.
It was a 10- week journey for all three finalists. For Ross, it began March 20 with his baseball- inspired cha- cha that earned him a debut score of 27 out of 40. It was an uphill battle from there as the MLB catcher would find himself in the middle of the pack or toward the lower end of the leader board each week, as he and Arnold navigated the foxtrot, tango, jive, Argentine tango, paso doble and Viennese waltz among others.
At the start of the show, host Tom Bergeron spoke to Ross about his experience on “DWTS.”
“This show is harder than I ever imagined. … I’ve grown as a dancer, I’ve grown as a person. I’m having the best experience,” Ross said. Turning to Arnold, Ross said, ‘‘ This relationship is special, and you’re a great person and you know I’m gonna miss the heck out of you.” As his eyes noticeably welled up with tears, Ross said, “Sorry America, more tears.” Turning to Arnold, he said, “You know I love ya.”