J. R. Martinez Joins Winners Roll on 'Dancing with the Stars'

Season 13 of "Dancing with the Stars" wrapped up on Nov. 22 when the mirror ball trophy was awarded to actor and Army veteran J. R. Martinez. He danced beautifully and improved dramatically during the course of the season, but his victory highlights a trend that has become an integral part of ABC's reality series. In particular, this show has become much more adept at revealing and promoting new stars than it is at actually enticing established celebrities to strut their stuff on television. Aside from a cadre of athletes, the list of dancing winners reads more like the local school honor roll than a lineup of celebrities. To wit, the champs have been:

Season 1 - Kelly Monaco

Season 2 - Drew Lachey

Season 3 - Emmitt Smith

Season 4 - Apolo Anton Ohno

Season 5 - Helio Castroneves

Season 6 - Kristi Yamaguchi

Season 7 - Brooke Burke

Season 8 - Shawn Johnson

Season 9 - Donny Osmond

Season 10 - Nicole Scherzinger

Season 11 - Jennifer Grey

Season 12 - Hines Ward

Season 13 - J. R. Martinez

Take out the sportsters from that list, and you're left with a group headlined by Donny Osmond, who would have been a major "get" for the show in the 1970s but was unknown to half the audience 35 years later. Of course, part of the reason that more big stars have not won this competition is because not many really big names compete in the first place. The show does, and always has, catered to reality celebs and other who are famous for being famous.

While "Dancing with the Stars" hasn't really delivered on the promise of its lofty name, it has done an exceptional job of building its contestants into household names. A celeb is never more popular than when he or she is tearing it up on the dance floor from week to week, and Martinez has certainly benefited from his national exposure.

But Martinez is an unusual case for "Dancing with the Stars" because he is a true hero to millions of Americans. While many idolize, or at least admire, athletes and movie stars, it's not often that we get to see someone who put his life on the line for us ascend to the status of media darling. So, for all the glitz that has shone before him and for all the stars that the show has boosted, J. R. Martinez may just be the biggest and shiniest of them all.