Bry: I see your point, but the same arguement could be made in other games. If you take all my pieces in chess and win, or if I checkmate you without capturing any of yours, who played better? If I beat you in pente, but you cap four of my pairs along the way, does that make the win weaker than a win with no stones capped?

It's all about winning (which makes a sad statement about our society, but that's a whole different discussion). How you get the win (as long as you play fair), or the final score doesn't matter (except in college football). ;-)