Dancing With The Stars: Hines Ward Set To Make Debut on Popular Reality TV Show

Is tonight the night that I tune in to ABC's Dancing With The Stars for the first time? The 12th season of the immensely popular reality show debuts tonight, and my favorite Pittsburgh Steeler, Hines Ward, is a contestant. Hmm, we'll see, my docket is looking fairly full this evening, but I certainly plan on checking out how Hines does on the dance floor in upcoming weeks.What about you all? Any interest? Is the show's format entertaining?

Ward, who I mentioned had been practicing as many as five hours a day in preparation for the contest, is eager to see how he'll stack up against the diverse range of celebrity contestants.

Hines Ward Scores on His Cha Cha on DWTS

Hines Ward is was a star on the Pittsburgh Steelers but Hines moved gracefully tonight on Dancing with the Stars season 12.

Hines Ward traded his cleats for some dancing shoes to appear on Dancing With the Stars Season 12.

Ward is a former player with the Pittsburgh Steelers who danced the cha-cha with Kym Johnson tonight. Hines Ward got good scores from the DWTS judges.

Dancing with the Stars judge Len Goodman said, “You continue the tradition of good footballers who can dance.”

Judge Carrie Ann Inaba called it the “sparkliest Cha Cha.”  DWTS judge Bruno Tonioli gave Hines snaps for his timing.

Hines Ward scored a 7 from each of the judges, for a total score tonight of 21 points.

In past seasons, professional athletes have been early front runners on Dancing with the Stars. So I guess it’s not that big of a surprise that Hines Ward did so well right out of the box tonight.

Hines Ward and Kym Johnson conquer the Cha Cha on 'Dancing with the Stars'

And we're back "Dancing with the Stars" fans!

Welcome to Season 12, where in a not-so-surprising twist, a professional athlete is one of the early frontrunners for the coveted title and mirror ball. Same story, different season? So it seems.

Football star Hines Ward made his "Dancing" debut on Monday, Mar. 21, where he took on the Cha Cha with his partner Kym Johnson.

So what did the judges have to say about the all-pro Pittsburg Steeler's dance moves? Len Goodman said, "You continue the tradition of good footballers who can dance," Carrie Ann Inaba called it the "sparkliest Cha Cha" and Bruno Tonioli complimented the timing. All of the judges gave them a 7 for a total score of 21 points. Not bad for your first try, Hines!