The eyes of America and much of the world will be turned tonight to the dramatic finale of Project Runway, on Bravo. This brass-knuckles clothing-design competition is the latest evidence that activities once derided as mundane can be transformed into pulse-pounding entertainment.

Ever since quilting was added (controversially) as an official Winter Olympic sport, savvy TV producers have rushed to find the next improbably thrilling arena for triumph and heartbreak. No one could have imagined that this fall the most popular program on cable TV would be "Iron Sommelier." No one foresaw that the Summer X-Games would score such high ratings by scheduling the Parallel Parking event in prime time.

As a culture we recognize more than ever that everyone is, in his or her own way, an athlete, and every chore, hobby and proclivity a sport. Notice how James Webb, in his Senate campaign, has spent so much time emphasizing the medals he won as a pastry chef.

Project Runway is just the most popular of the many shows built around the theme of Extreme Sewing. The contestants are given an assignment with narrow parameters, such as a fixed amount of fabric, and have just a few hours to produce an outfit that a model can wear on the runway. The results are variously amazing and appalling. It's a good demonstration of the fact that the words "fashion" and "fiasco" come from the same root. The host, a dead ringer for Heidi Klum, ejects the least promising designer every week. Now there are only a few left and they're all talented, though each capable of producing, under pressure, an outfit that looks like roadkill.

My kids are rapt viewers of Project Runway and have announced that they are rooting for Michael. I asked them why.

"He's sooooo nice," they said.

I'm like: Nice???? What is this, a sewing circle? Oh, right, it is, sort of.

But still, since when is nice a virtue in a sport? Do you think anyone says, "I love that Troy Polamalu because he's so nice"? No, they say, "I love that Troy Polamalu because he is a superb athlete and has such spectacular hair."

[For actual analysis of the show, you could click here. Or here. Or here.]

By Joel Achenbach  |  October 18, 2006; 9:52 AM ET
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