Von Miller was the Super Bowl MVP at Super Bowl 50, but he doesn’t credit his big performance in February to his success in 2016. Instead he credits his performance in a different arena to his recent success.
During the past offseason, Miller appeared on the famous “Dancing With the Stars” TV show. While working on his footwork that has helped lead him to a NFL high four sacks through three weeks, Miller worked on cardio and much more.
“I’ve never put six hours into one thing every single day, not even football,” Miller told ESPN. “We practice for two hours. [Dancing] made me consistent. It made me have to come to work every single day and be consistent and work on something that I wasn’t really good at. When I come out here and play football, this is what I do. I’m a professional football player, so it’s easier for me to do this.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQboGPhYUzA
Miller didn’t make it far in the recent season as he was ousted in week seven during a double elimination round. However, Broncos Coach Gary Kubiak and his staff are probably happy Miller was on the show at all.
“I’m very impressed with the fact that when a guy is not here throughout the course of an offseason, through contracts, as a coach, you always worry about how they come back,” Broncos coach Gary Kubiak said on any help dancing may have provided Miller. “Look how Von has come back. I think the fact that we had a short offseason and that was something he was doing, sure as hell had to help him. It couldn’t have hurt him.”
“I think having to struggle with that is definitely helping me here. I already had agility and flexibility, but the consistent part, coming into work and doing something that I’m not good at and have [dance partner] Witney [Carson] really depend on me to get my job done, that’s the correlation that it has on the football field,” Miller said. “I’m not tackling guys on the dance floor. The work that you put in to be a great dancer has a direct correlation to the work that you have to put in to be a great football player.”
With his elimination, Miller won’t join other athletes like Emmitt Smith, Apolo Anton Ohno, Hines Ward, and Donald Driver as famous athletes to have won the competition. Even though it would’ve been nice to win, Miller is probably satisfied with what he’s done on the gridiron.
After he was eliminated in the spring, Miller signed a massive six-year $114.5 million dollar deal in July. On top of that, Miller has his four sacks to lead the league this season.
With a Super Bowl ring and a Dancing With the Stars appearance on his mantle, Miller can now focus on future personal accomplishments.
“I have a lot of goals,’’ Miller said. “ … I just come out and try to be the best Von that I can be. I just work, grind and keep my head down. Whatever happens, happens. If I work and put 100 percent into what I’m doing, whatever happens at the end of the year, I’ll be OK with.”
[ESPN]
