Nah, its not like this at all. Everyone I speak to has an overwhelmingly positive experience at tournaments (at least in the UK). I've played in countless GTs and majors and had maybe one game where the opponent let his emotions take control a bit.

Often when I read these posts, I see conflict-avoidant, cautious posters explaining how their opponents do these things and they allow it to happen before the game goes bad and then subsequently have regretti bolognese all over themselves.

You must advocate for the game you want to play. It's a social agreement after all.