Best. Gay. Week. Ever. (August 29, 2008)

LANCE BASS IS A WINNING BET
I think this week's news that Lance Bass will be competing on Dancing with the Stars is a bigger deal than people are giving it credit for. I think that because he's going to win. That's right, win. So we should all probably just get on board, set our TiVos, and start rooting for him now.

Let me say at the outset that I'm not a huge fan of Dancing with the Stars. I've only ever seen it a few times and the only episode I'm sorry I missed was the one where Heather Mills' prosthetic leg flew off during a samba. Now that's good TV!

Also, and I'm sort of ashamed to admit this, I've never been that enthusiastic about Lance Bass. I'm not alone. It seems like a lot of gay guys are lukewarm about Lance ... and you know, when you think about it he probably deserves better.

So he started out as a boybander. I mean we never held that against Justin Timberlake did we? And okay, his over-exposed relationship with Reichen Lehmkuhl didn't help, nor did his strange plan to hitch a ride on a Russian space mission. But the guy really does deserve props for coming out publicly and with grace as he did in 2006, and also for seeming to have a healthy sense of humor about himself. Did anyone catch his cameo in Tropic Thunder? Very good stuff.

And now comes a turn on Dancing with the Stars. Here's why he'll win:

1. He is dancing with a woman.

When word got out that Bass might be doing DWTS there was a lot of speculation about whether he'd be dancing with a man or a woman. While it would have been interesting for an isolated dance or two, traditional ballroom dancing (as compared to other dance forms) really emphasizes the male/female dynamic. Sticking Bass with another guy for the entire season would have been a major handicap to him. Luckily he dodged that bullet. (Still, it would be cool if he were paired up with another man for at least one performance.)

2. He has a boy band background

Boybanders do well on Dancing with the Stars — case in point, Drew Lachey of 98 Degrees, who won in Season 2. Lance's days touring with fellow N'Syncers Justin, JC, Joey & Chris gave him plenty of experience with complicated choreography. (Although it should be noted that of all the N'Syncers Bass was probably the least accomplished as a dancer. In fact, when they first signed with BMG Music the label pressed the band to drop Bass because he hadn't had prior dance training. The rest of the members stuck up for Bass and refused to sign without him.)

3. The gays will vote for him

I mean come on, we have to turn out to support the home team, right?

4. (And this is a BIG one) His partner has her own legion of fans.

There are Dancing with the Stars fans and then there are So You Think You Can Dance fans. I count myself in the latter category (Nasty Nigel notwithstanding). One of the breakout stars of SYTYCD Season 3 was a little spitfire named Lacey Schwimmer. Her older brother won the competition the year before and that gave her the encouragement to return to dancing (she'd given it up to go to beauty school!). Lacey was a SYTYCD fan favorite and made it all the way to the top 4 before being eliminated. There are most defnitely SYTYCD fans who don't watch DWTS, and you can count on their tuning in this year to root for Lacey.

Lacey and Lance

Next Page! Frau Bleucher's Boniva break. Plus the Roastmaster General's gorgeous gams!