In three words, single elim bites.
It's
done in the sports world mostly because other methods
aren't generally feasible. (Six NFL playoff teams trying
to all play each other in three weeks wouldn't work,
for instance.) We aren't operating under their
constraints, so why use their methods to determine who's the
best?
Beware the excitement factor. Just because it'd be more
"exciting" doesn't make it better. Baseball (despite what
some may think) wouldn't be improved by putting
landmines on the field, although I guess it'd be
"exciting."
(If we were talking about putting something
on TV, perhaps we may have make some changes in that
direction, but why bother in our case?)
I should say
that I don't get too upset about single elim at some
events because the director has little choice in the
matter. Certainly at some massive HS events, your options
for playoffs can be very limited, whether in terms of
time or available questions.
-Tim