I really do miss the thunder. T birds were here about six years ago, Angels a couple before that. Both just spun back the clock for me. Formation flying like that is SO difficult, everything else is easy peasy. As for flybys, they have a training purpose, mostly time on target for tactical proficiency, so I wouldn't call that a waste at all.
And for all of the support agencies, getting materiel and personnel in place for mission success is great training. Especially in today's constrained ops, it is very important to exercise the mass movement muscles, whenever available, to ensure they will work when the real-world need arises.
