Are the DANCING WITH THE STARS Professionals Now More Famous Than Their "Celebrity" Partners?

A thought occurred to me over the past two weeks of watching Dancing with the Stars, as I found myself nervous that new pro Chelsie Hightower would be eliminated the first week out, and feeling for Lacey Schwimmer as she stood alone receiving comments without her partner Steve-O -- are the professional dancers on the show now more famous than their "celebrity" partners?

Think about it --

-Three of the pros (Chelsie, Lacey, and Dimitri Chapin) amassed sizable fanbases on So You Think You Can Dance (a show that gets a lot more viewers than Holly Madison' Girls Next Door).
-Edyta Sliwinska has been on eight cycles of the show
-Cheryl Burke has won twice and is a tabloid fixture
-Julianne Hough has a country CD and has been nominated for several awards
-Former champs Derek Hough and Mark Ballas have a new CD in stores
-Maksim Chmerkowskiy and Karinna Smirnoff are engaged, and constantly in the press

Now, this is not to say that some of this year's "stars" are, in fact, accomplished -- no one can take away Shawn Johnston's gold medal or Lil' Kim's notoriety or Laurence Taylor's football records. But in the Dancing with the Stars universe, there is no doubt that some of the pros have eclipsed their partners in terms of viewer affection.

Which begs the question -- is the playing field now stacked in favor of the pros who have their own fanbases? Lacey, Chelsie and Dimitri have fans who are used to voting for them -- does this, as a result, help Steve-O, Ty and Bridget? Will Julianne and Chuck last in the competition because of the audience's affection for Julianne? Will Denise Richards hang around because viewers can't get enough of Maks?

And does it even matter?

Let me know what you think in the comments section below.