Dancing with the Stars: How Donald Driver and Martina Navratilova Will Fare

The newest cast members were announced for Dancing with the Stars this morning, and Donald Driver and Martina Navratilova are the athletes for the show. 

Considering both are older and have endured long careers, they may not do so well at the competition. An athlete has won DWTS six times out of 13, but it's doubtful Driver or Navratilova will be hoisting the trophy in the end. 

Why ABC chose these two as their athletes baffles me because younger and more relevant stars would have been appropriate. 

It's mostly a popularity contest, and neither of these athletes are big-time stars. Driver has been in the NFL since 1999, and Navratilova was a big tennis star in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s. 

Everyone else for the upcoming season can be seen at USA Today, which reported the list after it was announced on Good Morning America. 

Driver recently turned 37, which is the same age Emmitt Smith was when he won the show back in 2006. This could mean good fortune for him, but there are younger competitors who could easily steal his thunder. 

Navratilova is 55 years old, and typically the elder cast members don't last long on the show. The oldest person to win the competition was Donny Osmond in 2009. He was 51 at the time, but he's been dancing his whole life, so he doesn't really count. 

She isn't the oldest person on the show this year, as that title belongs to Gladys Knight. Still, I don't foresee Navratilova having great success on DWTS. 

On Sunday, it was reported that Driver would take a salary hit to remain with the Green Bay Packers if need be, and that he would like to play two more seasons. 

One would think he would be spending the offseason working with his team and focusing on football, which is why it's a surprise to me he's dancing on the show. 

Athletes have thrived on the hit ABC show, but this season neither Driver nor Navratilova will win the coveted Mirror Ball trophy.