Steelers WR Antonio Brown MUST win Dancing with the Stars

As a long-time fan of the Steelers, I take pride in knowing the history of the team.

In 1933, the franchise was founded by the legendary Art Rooney Sr., and after that a bunch of  stuff happened for a lot of years. Then in the 1970s, the Steelers started winning Super Bowls and didn't stop until they claimed their record sixth Lombardi in January of 2009. Two years later, in the spring of  2011, Steelers all-time great receiver Hines Ward brought home yet another championship, when he claimed the franchise's first Mirror Ball after winning Season 12's Dancing with the Stars.

Therefore, I grew up with championships; I expect championships. Anything less is TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE.

Season 22 of Dancing with the Stars kicked off on Monday night, and another Steelers receiver, Antonio Brown, is in the mix and trying to bring the franchise its eighth championship. With Week 1 in the books, Brown and his partner, Sharna Burgess, are tied with three other dance duos for third place, after posting a score of 21 out of 30.

Brown started things off with his, well, routine dance move he always performs after scoring a touchdown. After that, Brown and his partner began a quickstep routine. If I may, let me just say I would have started out with the foxtrot, but what do I know? I'm just a fan. As for his touchdown celebration move at the beginning, in my opinion, this cost Brown at least three points--in today's day and age, excessive celebrations are frowned upon. Brown just had to show up the judges, who, let's face it, are probably looking for a way to screw the Steelers over, especially since the Broncos' Von Miller is also in the competition.

Speaking of Miller, the Super Bowl 50 MVP and his partner actually did go with the always reliable foxtrot, and this earned them the same 21 of 30 score as Brown and Burgess.

So, after the first week, not only isn't Brown in first place (the co-leaders posted a score of 23 out 30), he's not even the best NFL player among all of the celebrity dancers.

Yes, Brown looked like he was having a ball. And yes, like a girl at work always says, he's just so adorable and cute.

And let's not forget about that smile.

But again, if I may, the Steelers' legacy wasn't built with cute smiles; it was built with championships, and anything less is TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE.

Hines, good old No. 86, also had a great smile, and he was adorable. But you know what else Ward was? He was tough as nails, a receiver who liked to BLOCK! Nobody believed Ward, a third round pick out of Georgia in 1998, would go on to someday capture the franchise's first Mirror Ball (and seventh overall title). But thanks to his blue-collar work-ethic, Hines was able to do the impossible and prove all the doubters wrong. (Not even Hall of Fame receiver Jerry Rice, a first round pick and former DWTS contestant, could compete with Hines on the dance floor--Rice was just a runner-up, and they don't give trophies for that.) Anyway, Ward and his partner clinched the championship by performing a freestyle routine, which personified the Steeler Way in dance. After that, much like everyone did in the 1970s and in the 2000s, we all turned out in Downtown Pittsburgh (even the mayor) for a parade to honor Ward and his partner, Kym Johnson, for doing the city proud, once more.

Ward built upon the legacy that Lynn Swann and his ballet artistry created decades before and became a champion of the dancing world. Now it's up to Brown to continue that legacy.

Is Dancing with the Stars fun for Antonio Brown? Is he beginning a journey he'll remember for the rest of his life? Maybe. But I don't go to bed every night wearing a "fun" t-shirt. My shirt says, "Got six and a Mirror Ball?"

And who cares about the journey?

A second Mirror Ball (and eighth franchise championship) is the only thing that matters to me as I watch Season 22 of Dancing With the Stars.

Anything less is TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE.