@hillerj @redice
What I'm questioning is, they had ways of finding the people who were beyond insanely powerful amongst the lower-ranks and then scooping them up into S rank.
Bat took down a Demon-rank all on his own at Rank C. They noticed him, people likely appreciated him. They even mention that these guys turn up when the first-responders get floored, and effortlessly win.
Saitama does this, everyone jeers at him and the other heroes. Remember Sea King? Saitama saves everything and everyone in front of people and he doesn't get evaluated any higher, public turns against him.
Why is it different now compared to then? Back then, Demon-rank was new, that's only one rank above Tiger. Then Dragon shows up, too. They had a system in place for handling those stand-out heroes who AREN'T popular, but are strong.