I was at Guitar Center buying something when they had the local contest, so I figured I would catch some of the show. Everybody at the local GC was respectful of each other. I didn't see anything like what you are talking about.

There was a large turn out. That was surprising. I had gotten something in the mail about it that said "check the website for details" and the website had no details, so I was surprised these people even found out what day to show up.

I am webmaster at another site, too, called www.guitarwar.com and it is a competition. There are no prizes but people still get really worked up about who is better than who....