As many have already stated, I really dont think that the "Ideals" of FIRST have changed. FIRST has always been about inspiration and continues to be.
But FIRST has changed in a few other ways. It has become more corporate like. Many threads show how "in the old days" the FIRST community was like a large family... now its more like a business. This often makes it hard for the smaller teams to be heard.
Another way that hurts the small teams is that it costs a lot more money. I can remember back in 2000 that there was a team of a father and his two sons who scraped together just enough money to attend nationals (before you had to qualify or rookies couldnt register). They essentially put together a plywood box on a scissor lift with wheels that could lift balls. It was a valient effort, and they were an inspiration to all of us.
Where I can agree with the "stamped-out" comment, is that yes, smaller teams can no longer afford to go to several events. Smaller teams cannot afford the people to put together a large scouting system or 10 different crews at the events. Smaller teams dont often have the resources to make a ton of marketing propaganda.
But where I disagree, is that smaller teams are still an inspiration to a lot of us. Its the "wow, look at what they accomplished with 1/10 our budget, or half our people..." etc. It inspires us all to be a bit more frugal and perhaps give a little more of ourselves. If we have 10 times the sponsorship, we should strive to accomplish 10 times as much, and part of that should be trying to help out the smaller teams that may need it, or start new teams, etc.
Dont lose hope... perhaps your team may not think it is seen, but it is. Someone recognizes the effort you made, even if you dont have the black and clear plastic to prove it.
Oh and another thing, you dont have to leave FIRST, I graduated HS in 98, and Clarkson University didnt have a team, so I started one... take your ambitions and your direction and start up a new team!
Anyways, I gotta run to our HS awards ceremony
just my thoughts as usual.