With the scores among the three finalists in 'Dancing With the Stars' being so close it was going to come down to who had the strongest fan base. In the end, the Steeler Nation, the fan base of the pro football team that Hines Ward plays for in Pittsburgh, turned out to be stronger than all the 'Cheers' and 'Disney' fans.

Ward and his partner Kym Johnson took home the coveted mirrorball trophy. Emmy-winning actress Kirstie Alley and partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy came in second. Disney star Chelsea Kane and partner Mark Ballas, who was celebrating his 25th birthday yesterday, came in third.

Immediately after the show, the ballroom dance floor turned into a media frenzy. ABC publicists quickly set up a press line with a white, plastic chain-link fence, separated by poles, with press on one side, stars and dancers on the other, and a flurry of interviews began.

AOL TV was on the scene to talk to the new champions, the runner-ups and other Season 12 participants.

Many times the winner of 'Dancing With the Stars' is predictable. Season 11's Jennifer Grey and Season 6's Kristi Yamaguchi were favored to win their respective seasons and, sure enough, both emerged as winners.

But this season, it's been nearly impossible to predict who's going to win.

Kirstie Alley trails both Chelsea Kane and Hines Ward (who are tied for first place) by a mere five points going into tonight's finale, but the former 'Cheers' actress has probably the biggest fan base of the three finalists. (Let's not forget that she played a Vulcan in fan favorite 'Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.')

Ward is a crowd favorite and has sports fans everywhere rooting for him. Kane, a Disney star, is likely supported by younger viewers, who may be more savvy when it comes to voting on-line.

The three finalists and their pro dance partners weighed in on their performances on last night's post-show press line, and AOL TV was on the scene to get their reactions.

It seems that Season 13 of 'Dancing With the Stars' could be a very unlucky one for fans of pro dancer Maksim Chmerkovskiy.

After the finals last night AOL TV asked the bad boy of the ballroom if he'll be returning to the show when it comes back for its next installment (likely in mid-September.)

"I don't know," he shared. "It takes a lot out of you. When you invest that much of you into something that's supposed to be just work you [can] get misinterpreted. I don't know [if I'm coming back]. We'll see. Right now, I'm drained."

Chmerkovskiy, who joined the show in Season 2, has taken a break from 'DWTS' before, sitting out Season 6 back in 2008.