thank you everyone for your answers. i have a feeling that i probably won't be rooting. i never felt like i was missing out on my pre, so i'm sure i won't with the EVO either. the only thing is, i know it's out there and i "hear" everyone talking about it, so it's gotten me interested.
I'll share my experience.
I was never really into phones till I got my Hero, I had a dinosaur excuse for a phone (Treo700) before. I do love technology, though, and can teach myself on my own how to do things I didn't know how to do...and everyone, including you, can do that.
Once I got the Hero I became fascinated about what a phone can do and then I was hooked. Once I read about rooting, I thought it was too risky and above my head. I spent the next 4-5 months exploring android, the market and customizing my phone as much as I could till eventually I reached a point where I did pretty much everything I could "do".
I started reading up on rooting and watched more than a few videos about what it is and how to do it. Eventually what sold me was:
1) flipz's FreshKitchen makes it super easy and dramatically lowers the risk of bricking
2) If I ever wanted to get warranty work on the phone (because rooting voids the warranty), I can revert back to original stock condition (by flashing the RUU for the Hero)
So I went ahead and did it, and it's great. Phone is much snappier, I was able to get rid of things I didn't care for like the stock twitter and nascar apps to free up space, load custom boot-up screens...pretty much anything I want. It's been fun to explore. I'm still by no means a software expert (probably never will), I just waited for the real experts to make the process simple enough for someone motivated and willing to learn to do what they discovered.
Once I get my EVO, I'm basically going to do the same thing (explore all its features and capabilities as it came out of the box) with one difference...since I understand the rooting process better, I feel far more comfortable with doing it sooner than the 4-5 months it took me to with the Hero.
The BIGGEST reason you want to root the EVO is...mobile hotspot capability, which is what sprint wants 30 bucks for. But if you root, you will be able to have it (from what I understand).
So get your EVO, have your fun and if you feel like you want to really open up its potential, read up on rooting
hth