I usually stick to the more trolly type threads, but this is a real heartbreaker for me. I, like just about everyone on this site, know about a dozen or so guys in the 2:20-2:30 range that (whether they will say it out loud or not) have had the dream of qualifying for the OTs as the driving force in getting them out the door each morning.
When I was still in college the B standard was 2:22:00, and it was the kind of mark that seemed all but guaranteed to the 15:00 5K guy who paid his dues for the next 3-4 years after school. It was a great reward to that kind of dedication to the sport. The reward was also paid back to the USATF and USOC and the sport of distance running in the very way that everyone has stated: we rooted for our town's guy whether he was 1st or 100th at the OTs. He earned it.
Hall, Ritz, Meb and the like are going to place just as well at OTs and the Games whether I or anyone else finishes 15 minutes back of them at Houston, but if the 50+ extra qualifiers that have some sort of 'B' standard inspire a few dozen young runners to get set even greater goals, then you've planted a seed in nearly a 1,000 future USA representatives.
Not cool, man. Not cool at all.