Emmitt Smith was the MVP of the dance floor this year.
The three-time Super Bowl champion added a mirrored disco ball to his already crowded trophy case Wednesday night, besting "Super Mario" Lopez to win the third season of ABC's Dancing with the Stars.
"It is awesome! It is awesome!" cried Smith, whose beefy physique belied the twinkle-toes lurking beneath the surface. "We came a long way—we really have."
While Lopez boasted the more technically perfect moves—and some unrivaled hip-swiveling action—it was Smith's seemingly effortless elegance and graceful-yet-masculine poise that made judge Len Goodman call him his "dancing hero."
"You look like you've been doing this all your life," judge Bruno Tonioli told Smith during Tuesday night's performance finale, after the NFL leader in career-rushing yards trotted out an impressive mambo.
"From the beginning, he just wanted to be the best possible dancer he can be," Smith's partner, Cheryl Burke, said in a video clip played during Wednesday's results show. Burke is also the series' defending champion, having coached former 98 Degrees member Drew Lachey to the heights of ballroom glory last year.
It truly all came down to the fans at home this season. Smith and Lopez came into the finale tied at 89 points apiece, having each danced two perfect routines on Tuesday and just missing one point on the third.
Smith snagged a 29 and Lopez scored a perfect 30 on the freestyle portion of the evening, which was unencumbered by the series' usual rules and featured a selection of dangerous-looking lifts, hip-hop-inspired moves and other "bad boy" behavior.
While she didn't take too kindly to Lopez pushing the boundaries of the ballroom earlier in the season, judge Carrie Ann Inaba called the actor's routine the best dance she's seen all year.
Ever the sportsman, Smith called Lopez a "true gentleman" and said that the ex-Saved By the Bell star and partner Karina Smirnoff had really "raised the bar" throughout the competition.
"This whole journey was unbelievable," said Lopez, who was rumored to have been romancing his dance partner off-camera. "And Karina—most unbelievable person. It's something I'll never forget."
Meanwhile, the bar may have been raised, but Smith—ever the competitor as well—came prepared to jump right over it.
"You don't get into a competition unless you think you can win," the former Dallas Cowboy told AP Radio after he was crowned the winner.
"Although we are all thrilled, we should not be surprised," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said in a statement issued Wednesday, after all was said and done. "If Emmitt Smith is on your team, there is a good chance you are going to win."
This concludes a season of the hit ABC series—a series record 27.3 million people tuned in to watch Smith be crowned lord of the dance—that was a little more eventful than most.
In addition to a surprisingly emotional run by Jerry Springer, this installment of the show—which averaged nearly 20 million viewers on Tuesday nights and was the second most-watched show behind Desperate Housewives last week—also featured the premature departure of Sara Evans, who abruptly quit on Oct. 12 after having never been in danger of getting voted off.
The country singer's motives became crystal clear the next day, when it was reported that she had filed for divorce from her husband of 13 years, Craig Schelske, charging him with adultery and other conduct unbefitting a marriage. A slew of unsavory accusations from both sides followed.
Further proving that she's happy to be moving on with her life, Evans joined fellow contestants Springer, Vivica A. Fox, Willa Ford, Monique Coleman, Joey Lawrence, Harry Hamlin, Shanna Moakler and Tucker Carlson for one last dance Wednesday night.