No worries, no offense taken!
I would argue that there is enough free assets out there to showcase your skills just as well as there are paid assets. Paid assets generally come in better looking but if people are being honest about what they pulled in and what they made themselves, then the judges have all the info they need to judge accordingly, so you shouldn't feel worried about "losing" based on this. Further to this point though, jams aren't really about winning or losing are they? It's more about practicing your craft, getting feedback and building your portfolio, they're all about your own progression, so you really shouldn't be concerned about what others are paying for or not.
I have a few years experience as a hobbyist, most of it was focused toward a small mobile game I shelved shortly after launching, but that project gave me a strong base of knowledge to work from. By trade I am a developer, not a game developer sadly but coding is one of my stronger points so I can crank stuff out pretty quick usually :)
Sorry I really wish I spent a few more minutes on that secret 'skip' button you mentioned, I don't think I ever remembered to wire that button up, my apologies :'(