You make an even better point...when the 'tubes come a knockin', you better be a postin'!
On my particular camera (D7000), I have a center-weighted option. I can even set the percentage of the shot that I'd like to be metered. I completely understand what you're saying with the dark suits though. Michael Freeman actually has an amazing book called "Perfect Exposure" that tackles pretty much every scenario imaginable. Really helped me a lot with my exposure process.
But really, I was just being a bitch. It's a million times more important to capture the moment than to capture the right exposure in a situation like this.