I totally agree with your post. In addition to the above excerpt, I'd add that the locale of the show also dictates what they will do in terms of 'stunts' and also how they're done. When the 'Birds or Angels evaluate the airspace they will be using, they look very hard at the ground beneath it and what occupies it. Populated areas limit how extreme they will perform, and they require "safe" corridors into and out of the airfield's airspace where most of the extreme maneuvers take place.

I can't really say I like one team over the other. I'm ex-USAF, so I'd want to lean that way, but over the years, with all the different aircraft types they have used, either one is a thrill to watch. My first Blue Angel performance, they were flying F-11F Tigers, my favorite is either the A-4 or the Phantom. My favorite T-Bird plane is probably the F-16, but the T-38 was a good one, too.

By the way, the F-4 Phantom II is the only plane that has been used by both teams. It may not be the most aerobatic, of any of the planes ever used, but I'll guarantee it was the loudest.