Bob Cook

By mamboing and sambaing his way to victory on ABC-TV’s "Dancing With the Stars," Emmitt Smith proved manliness comes not just in a No. 22 Dallas Cowboys jersey. It also comes in a metallic green, sleeveless silk shirt with matching bicep-bands filched from the Freddie Mercury collection.

It’s not just what you wear that makes you a man. It’s also how you wear it, particularly if you have arms as thick as redwoods. Manhood is about being confident and dedicated to what you do, whether it’s setting the NFL rushing record, or sliding across a stage in Hammer pants and a sequined mustard-yellow vest. As Smith said, in a clip from the show’s finale, as he picked out a pink shirt: "Man, that’s a man that’s confident, man."

Granted, it wasn’t Smith’s 10 weeks of "beautiful, easy rhythm," as designated sourpuss/Simon Cowell soundalike "Stars" judge Len Goodman put it, that brought manliness to dancing. It was his status as a three-time Super Bowl winner. A star football player's acceptance of all things dance made it a lot easier for men, especially in the Dallas area, to at least cop to watching the show, and perhaps even take up dancing themselves.

"As one male customer told me just the other day: 'Emmitt makes dancing look manly,’" said Toni Musgrow, explaining to The Associated Press why a rush of men have signed up for lessons at her Idance3 studio in Plano, Texas, where Smith and partner Cheryl Burke practiced.

Don’t think the producers of "Dancing With the Stars" don’t know this.

Since the British knock-off — has there been a reality show that wasn’t a British knock-off? — washed ashore last year, each series has featured a retired athlete. Well, with Evander Holyfield the first season, he counts only as retired at that specific moment. Holyfield was knocked out — ha ha! — fairly early in the competition, which like American Idol (British knock-off) has performers voted off by viewers.

The watershed moment was the second series, in which NFL all-time leading receiver Jerry Rice made it to the final night before losing to Drew Lachey, former boy band member and in-law to Jessica Simpson (the definition of "Stars" is very, very liberal). Men guilted by their female significant others into watching couldn’t help but actually enjoy seeing a manly, football-playing man gliding across the floor.

After the all-time leading receiver, why not put on the all-time leading rusher for the third installment? (In this continuum, all-time leading passer Dan Marino should be expecting a call for the fourth series.)

Also, football players have natural dancing ability, even if they haven’t applied it to ballroom dancing. Think of all the end-zone celebrations – is it that hard to imagine Terrell Owens or Chad Johnson appearing on a future "Dancing With the Stars?" ("Now on stage, doing the Ocho Cinco… .") Think of Lynn Swann taking ballet lessons, or Herschel Walker appearing in a Fort Worth Ballet show.

Or think of, in Smith’s case, the ability to dance around linebackers wanting to snap him in half. You can easily imagine the skills at mamboing around Lawrence Taylor would translate smoothly to mamboing around a slinky female partner. That is, assuming the player still has both of his original hips.

"Never in my lifetime did I think I would be competing for a trophy in a ballroom-dancing competition," Smith told TV Guide. "There are a lot of things I imagined myself doing after retiring from football, but I can safely say that this wasn't one of them." But despite any trepidation, from the first episode, Smith stood out. "Man, you are the king of effortless cool!" swooned judge Bruno Tioli, who is, shall we say, the more flamboyant type men tend to associate with dance.

Smith got a big assist from being paired with Burke, who partnered with Lachey to win the second season, and his gray-flecked bearded, statesmanlike presence. Smith looked like a regular guy dancing because he wasn’t a Hollywood type, or Jerry Springer. "You’re the everyday man who became a dancer before our own eyes," gushed judge Carrie Ann Inaba, the designated Paula Abdul character.

If Smith ever thought his appearing on a dance show was some sort of threat to his manhood, he never showed it. In fact, Smith took "Dancing With the Stars" as seriously as he did any Cowboys season. He told TV Guide his six weeks of pre-show training with Burke was "our version of training camp, something I understand quite well." Roger Staubach, like Smith a Cowboy turned real estate developer, recognized Smith’s competitive drive. "I really believe he wouldn’t have gone on the show unless he felt he had a chance of winning," he said in a clip during the "Stars" finale.

MORE FROM NFL

NFL Section Front

Texans boot chances to beat rolling Titans PFT: Chargers on rise in latest power rankings PFT: Ryan thinks Patriots ‘disrespected’ Jets PFT: Cooley probably headed for injured reserve Trash Talk: Thanksgiving games are just turkeys   PFT: Cowboys downplay Campo-Newman spat PFT: Someone hacked Jet’s Twitter account PFT: Roethlisberger ‘appears well enough’ to play PFT: Lions coach takes issue with Mangini PFT: Bills contact Cowher, who says no ... for now NFL Section Front   Add NFL headlines to your news reader: