I'm based in MSP and I see the same all the time, 50% of the plane is elite status. The point about tiers is on the money. I would prefer to see boarding after F boards called by tiers, PL, then GL, then SL, that would help make the "elite" level feel more elite when the upgrades don't happen.
To the OP, at least with your higher tier status, you are higher on the stand by list than GL and SL^