I'm not sure what is "sad" about it. Neither is perfect but the guys at WATA worked their asses off to have the advantages you mention. They were at all the conventions, they built the connections with heritage auctions, WATA was doing interviews with anyone who would listen, Deniz got himself on Pawn Stars as an expert. These are guys from the community who started a company from nothing.
VGA has been stagnant for years. They don't address any concerns people have about the company or their standards, they aren't upfront about how their process works. There is a reason people make the joke about "some guy in his mom's basement telling you the condition of your game", it's because of the mystery around their operation.
Competition is a good thing. VGA can either try and up their game, or fade away. They seem to be choosing the latter.