We've seen soccer players run up and down the field until it was just dirt. It seems that even watching people sing until their vocal chords give out has become boring. It seems as though there's something missing deep, deep, deep.in our stomachs.

That's right, I'm talking about Iron Chef. Because we must face the fact that sports no longer satisfy Americans. That's because America's favorite pastime is no longer baseball. It's eating. That's probably the appeal of Iron Chef.

It is one of those kinds of shows that is fun to watch, but is also educational. For those unfamiliar, Iron Chef is deceptively simple. Two chefs are placed into the Kitchen Arena and told to make five dishes apiece and please the three judges who have been selected.

The only conditions? They have less than an hour to make the dish. And more importantly, they have to use a specified ingredient for a theme as chosen by the Chairman (a man who emits both an intimidating and amusing presence as he oversees the cooking).

One thing that makes Iron Chef different from any other competition is that it is good, clean (well, not always) fun. There are no steroid scandals, no bad calls, no tie breakers. Just two chefs, their assistants, ingredients, and the judges. Another thing that makes the show great is the frenzied nature of the cooking that goes on.

There is something inexplicably fascinating about watching an expert do his or her job. And despite it's fast nature, one can usually walk away with a sense of how they made at least one of their dishes, so it's educational as well. In fact, the only real downside I can give the show is one's inability to taste the food the judges try.

Iron Chef is one of the few competitions out there that has no cheating, no ill will, and no scandal. There is only cooking afoot. Iron Chef is one of the few fully enthralling shows that will make you want to cook the same way that Dancing with the Stars made you want to dance. It will make you cheer. And not just because you think the food looks tasty.