Why do you silly folks mic drums?

[Space Monkey]

I just got an Alesis DM10 Electronic Drum Set two 1/4 in. cables going into my joe meek dual ch. strip w/ EQ, COMP. During class we mic'd drums and the cost would be enourmous for all those mics. Furthermore you won't always get it mic'd just right (makes me wonder how Jerry Garcia and company were able to pull it off when they were so chemically enhanced). I just use an electronic drum set. Now let me say I am a beginner drummer I still have trouble with the bass drum/pedal (i think my pedal sucks) but for a beginner the alesis is awesome. I just am curious what is the allure of acoustic drum sets instead of electronic? Also for you expert drummers what can I do to get better at drumming esp. using my feet? At any rate before I got this I had (and don't laugh) a roland spd-20 drum machine. Essentially I have no one to play with in a band so I just tought myself almost every instrument over the past 20 yrs.