When I first came to this forum, I thought the critical responses to people wanting 'cross bikes to commute to work or ride the bike trail on the weekend to be a little petty. Some of them still are.
Now that I've started racing 'cross, I understand them more. The good threads about race positioning, tubulars, getting the "hole shot" and reversing brake levers get lost amid a flood of people looking for a great all around bike.
I don't want all around, I want mud flyin', brake screami', beer flowing action!