Most owners of dogs we come across make them sit?

Luckily our dog isn't awful but will bark and whine a little when another dog is across the street (desperate to play). But I feel like at least half the folks we come across make their dogs sit and stay when they see another dog. I just always think, what if both owners are training their dogs, who gets to sit their dog down and wait? Because we are forced to walk quickly on most times because the other dog are sat down staring at us as a training exercise.

Just a random thought, thinking of a stand off with both owners with their dogs sitting trying to train them. Is sitting your dog down really preferably to just walking on and not making a big deal of it?