Julia's Thoughts On Von and Witney

Last week, Von Miller and Witney Carson became one of two couples eliminated on Week 7 of Dancing With the Stars Season 22, with Von becoming the second of three NFL players to be cut from the competition. It was never clarified whether the couple finished in 7th or 8th place, but based on season totals (including scores from guest judges) they finished with one more point than the other couple eliminated last Monday so I'll say they came in 7th.



I thought Von was a perfect addition to the Season 22 cast, being the Superbowl MVP and all. He had a big fanbase and was relevant in the media, so it seemed like the perfect time for him to be on Dancing With the Stars. I was, however, a little confused when I found out he had been partnered with Witney. Von is very tall and Witney is on the shorter side, so this pairing seemed like a bit of a mismatch to me, and probably one of the strangest of the entire season. However, knowing the fanbases for both were pretty big, I guessed they would get enough votes to stick around for a decent amount of time.

One thing about Von I found to be surprising was how chill he was. I had been told he was sort of silly and wild (and a major chicken enthusiast) so I thought he'd be sort of like Redfoo, and I wasn't sure how the audience (or Witney for that matter) would react to him. Instead, he was pretty down-to-Earth and kind of quiet. Witney is sometimes kind of quiet as well, and her personality seems to come out more when partnered with someone with a "bigger" personality. I think that may have been one of the reasons they got sent home when they did, since the audience tends to vote for the most dynamic partnerships and Von and Witney were more relaxed and quiet.

I was disappointed with how the producers portrayed Von for much of the season. He was shown in his packages to be lazy, when in reality he was working hard and spent time researching the dances he was working on. I found it especially frustrating that the show made a big deal about Witney fining him for being late to rehearsals (it was awesome that she donated the money to skin cancer research by the way!) while it was never mentioned that Sharna was doing the same to Antonio. Von was also a team player and willingly went along with all the craziness DWTS has its contestants do. And for being the Superbowl MVP, he came across as a very humble person!

Some of Von and Witney's dances were kind of awkward, but that was to be expected given the big height difference and all. Von also seemed to have trouble with his facial expressions at first, but by his last couple of dances he was doing wonderfully with them! My favorite dance of Von and Witney's was the Elvis Salsa. The concept was so silly and ridiculous but they went along with it and the routine was a blast to watch!

It was sad for me to see Von and Witney go, because I felt like they were having a lot of fun together and working harder than some of the others left in the competition. But I'm glad Von didn't seem too bothered by it and that he and Witney were able to go on this journey together.

Let me know your thoughts on Von and Witney and I'll be back later this week as a contributor to the weekly masterpost!