Browsers implement pseudo elements using actual elements internally, there's no difference in power from using ::before or just putting a <span> as a child. Pseudo elements will probably be a little bit slower though.
I agree. Some people rant about me using "value | 0" instead of "Math.floor(value)" and another would do "::before {content: attr(data-value..." -stuff instead of just using a good old elements..
Go figure :)