Thank Goodness Cody Lost 'Dancing With The Stars'

- Pelo Talk -
Thank Goodness Cody Lost 'Dancing With The Stars'

If you've been following along on my DWTS journey, you know that I'm a Cody Rigsby stan. (And if you haven't been following along, check out all of my weekly entries here.) I love Cody — he's one of my favorite Peloton instructors, he's the only "star" I voted for this season on DWTS, and I will ride with him until the wheels on my bike fall off. But, as a viewer and also dance instructor, I have to say that I really wanted Iman to win Dancing With the Stars' Mirror Ball Trophy.

This season of DWTS was intense. The final four were all incredibly talented, and more importantly, they all had their own individual journey that earned them their place in the finale. Cody battled COVID, Iman made history as the first NBA player, JoJo and Jenna as the first all-female couple, and Amanda rediscovering herself after an incredibly heartbreaking year. It's difficult to say that one person "deserved" it more than any other.

But, it was not lost on me that Iman was the only one who has not had some type of dance training in the past. While there is no rule in the Dancing With the Stars Official Rulebook (as Tyra likes to reference) that says you can't be a dancer and a "Star" on the show, it is obviously a huge leg up to have some experience, whether it be simply performing, memorizing choreography, or knowing how to find the rhythm. Cody was a club and backup dancer, Amanda had been on Broadway, and JoJo is a singer/dancer who got her starts on Dance Moms (the latter basically meaning, she's been really freaking good since she was 6-years-old.)

Iman is a very tall basketball player, who many discounted as an "underdog" throughout the season.

[video Embed]

But the self-proclaimed underdog proved us all wrong. The very first week, Iman landed second to last on the leaderboard. From there he fought his way back, with the turning point definitely being his contemporary routine on Horror Night. And of course he didn't do it alone, as his partner Daniella is not only an incredible choreographer, but also used his strengths (literally) to their advantage to make him look good.

But, that obviously means Cody didn't win. And that's OK. He came in a very honorable third place and absolutely showed so much improvement week-after-week. He also didn't have it easy, contracting COVID and having to perform via Zoom. He was resilient and never let the judges' comments (and there were some harsh comments) wipe the smile from his face. And on top of that, we still got weekly "Live from LA" rides on Peloton. The man did it all and did it great. Did he deserve to win? I don't know about that. But do I know that the Peloton family helped give him the chance to continue to improve all the way into the finale, where he earned a perfect score for his incredible freestyle dance? Yes. And that, my friends, is the meaning of Peloton... together we go far... all the way to the finale, right?

Images: ABC/ERIC MCCANDLESS

Join For Free
Sign up for a free account on our new, female-founded site to personalize your feed and get access to our community and conversations.

Discover More