A lot crasser than that... but I digress...
as can we all ... pass, brother.
you are an expert
not too sure about that .. however I did read a book or two on a topic or two and that seems to get me out of a few problems here and there ...
Is it just a romance thing? Or is it an ego thing
anyone can go off and buy some taildragger time and make believe play at being a Spitfire pilot .. no can't be that
nobody can seriously believe that there is any advantage to a tailwheel configuration...
So far as the configuration itself goes, outside of rough field work you probably have an argument .. and, having frightened myself witless with hidden obstructions in said rough field work .. there is an argument for staying right away from that sort of thing
However, I reckon that there is a lot of confidence building to be had in tailwheel flying. For instance, the majority of mine is either towing or, to a lesser extent, jump flying. Nothing quite so consistently a complainer as a glider pilot who doesn't get an efficient (read cheap) time to height so one learns quickly to fly the beast accurately .. and then, having used the glider to keep straight on the takeoff .. comes the problem of getting back on the ground with only yourself to defeat the crosswind ... I reckon I learnt a LOT about landing stick and rudder work in a bunch of SuperCub, Callair, and Pawnee time on towing work ... now, the Callair brings back some memories ... how we didn't manage to kill ourselves with full flap landings still amazes me. Then again, Peter F (if the memory is OK) gave me a couple of circuits in a Wittman Tailwind (or something of very similar name?) some decades ago down at Latrobe Valley .. that was a bit different and gave a whole new perspective to my thoughts on directional stability.
so why do folk go out and get taildragger endorsements? bit more arm and leg movement.
I suggest that that is the answer. A few hundred hours in suitable taildraggers and one necessarily learns a few survival skills which probably don't become apparent in the nosegear configuration. Certainly one can transfer those skills to the nose wheel Types one might get to fly...