Throwdown with Bobby Flay

Okay, so maybe I'm just biased because I'm not a fan of Bobby Flay. The guy annoys me, what can I say? I don't know exactly what it is about him...

Anyway, for those of you who don't watch Food Network like I do, he has this show called "Throwdown with Bobby Flay," wherein he finds people who are really famous in their hometowns for some specific dish and he challenges them to a "throwdown." Basically, he tries to create the same dish, but make it better than theirs. For example, this one woman was really famous in her town for her mac & cheese, so he goes to there and tries to make a better mac & cheese than her. The judges are 3 people, chosen from that town. He gets them on under the guise of putting them on a show on Food Network where they are the featured cook.

Now does this sound wrong to anyone else but me? I mean, here's this famous chef whose name everyone knows... nationally recognized, has several cookbooks, and is an Iron Chef... He finds people who are famous in their hometowns for one big thing. It's THEIR thing... their one claim to fame. First he tricks them into thinking they're going to be honored on Food Network by having their own episode on a show, THEN he proceeds to beat them at their own game and prove that he, a professional chef, is better than they are, a hometown cook. I know he doesn't win EVERY time (though, for the record, I've only seen a few episodes, and he HAS won all of them), but what the hell is he trying to prove???? That he is better than my next door neighbor? Doesn't his being on TV and getting paid big money already prove that? Must he also seek to humiliate regular people?

If you ask me, that's like Michael Johnson coming to my house and challenging me to a foot race. Who do you think will win? All's I know is that, if I'm famous in Rockville, MD for my fried chicken (for example... my fried chicken is good, but I'm not famous for it by any means), and Bobby Flay challenged me to a throwdown, I'd be downright pissed. How dare you attempt to steal my small town thunder?

Shame on you, Bobby Flay. Shame.