I turned on Dancing with the Stars tonight just in time to catch the segment I hoped to.

I remembered it was Monday night, and because it was Monday night and the Cubs game against the Rockies tonight was blacked out locally, I figured I could still root on a Cub through that show.

David Ross- Grandpa Rossie, the recent Cub retiree and 2x World Series Champ- was still on it, after all, and I love the dude.

So when I turned ABC on, a commercial ended, and host Tom Bergeron was there, mic in hand, and as he said “Our next couple…”, the camera panned to David and his partner, Lindsay Arnold, each dressed in formal white, standing on a staircase. After Tom’s brief introduction, the show went to video of David and Lindsay’s prep for the week, and an interview with them about the song Lindsay chose for their waltz tonight.

And it was sweet TV.

Because Lindsay chose Tim McGraw’s song, “Humble and Kind” for their dance music.

[My paraphrase of the interview]

“I’ve known you for two months”, Lindsay tells David, “and in that short time, I have watched how you treat your family and your teammates, and people around you, and I have been blown away with the love you show to those around you. I chose this song because it illustrates to me how you are every day, and how you were raised, your values.”

“I was raised that way, yeah, to be honest, and humble, hold doors, say please, say thank you…”

[David pauses as the tears want to come, and he fights for composure for an infinite moment, lips fighting for a smile in the emotional contortion.]

The video goes to the couple practicing, and Lindsay speaking sincerely about David’s goodness and his impact on her as her second father of sorts. It’s clear that they, each married in real life to separate generations, lives and worlds, have developed a special relationship as sincere friends.

At one point after they’ve been sitting and talking on a dance break on the studio floor, Lindsay compliments him, and he matter of faculty tells her he loves her, without reticence, openly, blankly. Back to work.

Father to daughter.

The intro video ends, the dance starts, and gently and quietly they begin to move to McGraw’s tune. Early on in the waltz steps, Lindsay, in heels, steps on David’s feet as he leads them for a few moments, the move’s implication clear about their relationship, and about the impact of good parenting on the emergence of children as good adults. Their long strides are graceful and precise. David has clearly worked hard to be gentle through these actions, and Lindsay moves softly around him and through turns, spins, light lifts, and dips. And as the song ends, they stand center stage in a long warm embrace.

And a camera sweep of a few folks in the crowd conveys what I feel sitting, watching at home: that was a beautiful, heart-filled dance.

And then the judges speak.

Len compliments his technique and lauds his hard work.

Julie calls him the heart of the show, he the non-dancer, who comes out each week and works hard, improving, emoting, encouraging.

Bruno also compliments the growth in his skills and his alway positive presence on the floor.

Carrie Ann asks him if they as a couple go by “Lady and the Gramp”, because he should replace that with Lady and the Champ, because he dances phenomenally for a guy who has just started.

And then the judges ratings… 9… 9… 9… 9… A great score.

Before they move off and the next segment starts, Bergeron asks them a few questions. Lindsay beams and hugs David as he responds. He’s overwhelmed with all of the good words, and Tom applauds him for his hard work, and then in an aside before the Ross/Arnold segment breaks. Tom tells us as he talks to David, “As I said to you off the air a few weeks ago, in 24 seasons of this show, you are our first Major League baseball player to do it, and I could not think of a better person, a better man, for them to send to us.”

The high regard and poignant words rolls off of David, because he is who he is. A teammate. A coach. A cheerleader. A hard worker. A friend.

Well, I think he did get a little teary-eyed there too.

Which I also suppose is because, well, he’s a man. A man with a big, good heart.

Watching the 10 minutes or so of David with Lindsay and dancing and with Tom and the judges, I was reminded why I love the Cubs, and I loved him on it, and I love the people on that team. Theo Epstein, when building a team, said he wanted, besides talent, men of character. Good men. And he has built an organization in Chicago on that ideal, like he did in Boston before, where that club also broke their record of decades of baseball mediocrity with several World Series Championships.

David is a good face for that kind of an organization, of that team. Competitiveness, collegiality, selflessness, humility, an absence of arrogance and ego, a warmth towards whoever is around him. And a willingness to try new, hard, and uncomfortable things- with a smile.

Watching the 10 minutes or so of David and Lindsay and the DWTS crew, I was also reminded that I wanted to be more like him.

Humble, and kind.

—

“Humble and Kind” by Tim McGraw