Major milestones tend to make people reflect. With “Dancing with the Stars” celebrating a big one, its 20th birthday, this week, that’s what Donald Driver took to Instagram to do.
The Green Bay Packers legend and former Mirrorball champ attended the show’s “20th Birthday Party” special, which aired Nov. 11, with his wife, Betina.
“Season 14 wasn’t just a win — it was magic,” the Super Bowl champ wrote in an Instagram post, along with a carrousel of behind-the-scenes photos from the celebration.
“It stretched me, humbled me, and opened doors I never imagined. That mirrorball didn’t just change my career, it changed my life. Grateful for the journey, the growth, and the light that still shines from every step on that dance floor.”
“The greatest mirror ball champion (and wide receiver) of all time ” one Instagram user commented.
“The only reason I ever watched this show was because Donald Driver was on…and WON!! DD80!! Go Pack Go!! ” another wrote.
Some fans took this as an opportunity to reminisce themselves — about Driver’s freestyle performance to Cowboy Troy’s “I Play Chicken with the Train,” which earned Driver and his pro partner, Peta Murgatroyd, a perfect score:
The photos Driver shared on Instagram featured him and Betina on the ballroom floor, and each of them with several members of the “DWTS” family, both past and present. That included one of Betina with current contestant and mega-influencer Alix Earle and her mom, Alisa, who is from Wisconsin. Her side of the family still lives here.
For the birthday episode’s “Relay Dance” round, Earle was paired with Season 33 champ and former “Bachelor” Joey Graziadei, whose mom’s side is also from Wisconsin. And, he just so happens to be a big-time Packers fan. Graziadei’s fiancée, Kelsey Anderson, was pictured with Betina in one of the photos Driver posted.
University of Wisconsin-Madison grad Jenn Tran, who was on Season 33, too, also posted on social media that she was at the show’s birthday special.
Tran, who appeared on Graziadei’s season of “The Bachelor,” went on to become “The Bachelorette’s” first Asian American lead. Immediately after, she was cast as a contestant on “DWTS,” where she sparked some serious romance rumors with her pro partner, Sasha Farber.
“Me and DWTS having the same birthday month is so iconic of us thank you for some of the best memories and people of my life ” Tran, who returned to physician assistant school earlier this year, posted on Instagram with a slideshow of images from the celebration.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Packers legend Donald Driver says ‘Dancing with the Stars’ win ‘changed my life’
Reporting by Hannah Kirby, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
