I've been playing exclusively 9*'s/10's/10*'s for years... and no, not for the 'bragging' rights or in some vain quest for total machismo. Hell, I'm hardly around many saxophonists so I have no idea who I'd even 'brag' to about something so inconsequential. It's a matter of interface... plenty of players (like myself) love to give tons of air when they play, and they like to play loud because the music they play requires it. For reference: Other players who use/d 10* and over openings: Jerry Bergonzi, Steve Lacy, Gene Ammons, Albert Ayler, Eddie Lockjaw Davis, Willis Jackson (a 12* apparently), Ab Baars, John Dikeman, David S. Ware, George Garzone, Wayne Shorter, etc etc etc.
Saxophonists tend to forget that most people (including musicians) don't know or care about saxophone gear, so these claims of machismo regarding tip opening seem useless to me. Maybe at a jazz school or some other sax-bubble environment, but most people still confuse saxophone and trumpet, so whatever.
If the facing is good and the piece is well put together then yeah, should be 'easy' with the right reed. For the music I make, a big tip makes sense... I do music that requires extreme dynamics, be it 'free jazz'/'free improv' that's acoustic and loud, or extremely quiet ('lowercase') music where the larger tip gives me more options for breath sounds.
Anyway, play what feels right for what you want to do. There are too many variables with mouthpiece construction and vibration to make a generalization that's reliable.