Most of the drama surrounding Dancing With the Stars involves Bristol Palin, daughter of former Alaska governor Sarah Palin. Bristol led last night's stunning upset in Dancing With the Stars when she beat Brandy, who has topped of the leader board for several weeks. If you think DWTS is just a TV show, consider this report: A Wisconsin man enraged over Palin's routine shot his television with a shotgun.
Flash back one week to when former NFL quarterback Kurt Warner was still on the show. In his column nominating Kurt Warner for sportsman of the year, Peter King noted Warner's participation in the show and suggested that it might conflict with his faith.
It was an interesting personal choice. Warner is a devout Christian and he had to dance very closely with his very attractive partner. Anna Trebunskaya. And he had to do it recently on the 13th anniversary of the wedding of Warner and wife Brenda. He told me he did it for the challenge of it, and to show a Christian man can dance close with a woman who is not his wife and still be a faithful husband.
I wondered about his wife's reaction to the show, and to the endless hours of dancing with a beautiful woman with Brenda a few hundred miles away. And this is why I so appreciate Warner. It's the honesty.
After his retirement, Brad noted the religion ghost at the time. This time around, King doesn't shy away from religion and prompts Warner to answer tough questions.
Here's what most public figures would say to that question: "Oh, Brenda is totally supportive. She understands it's a once-in-a-lifetime deal, and she loves the fact I'm getting to show a different side of my life.''
Here's what Warner said: "She has her moments. I totally understand. It's tough on us. When it's your 13th anniversary, and you've got to dance 'the dance of love' with your partner, Brenda said, 'Do you find it ironic that you're dancing the dance of love on our 13th anniversary?' ''
This is a good example of how a reporter can recognize something that doesn't seem quite right, ask the subject about it and get an interesting answer, using a religion hook. If you look at the reason why someone does something out of the ordinary (go to church, feed the poor, etc.), you can often find religion in the mix. This case was an example of how religion could keep someone from doing something. Warner's religious views didn't keep him from dancing, but King's perception revealed an interesting tension.