Originally Posted by markraby

No, you misunderstood. Prior to boarding the LGA-ATL flight, I merely just noticed that there was a direct LGA-CAK flight at another gate. I did not try to get on that flight at the time, because my scheduled flight was seemingly on time. I still boarded my regular flight.

But when the delay happened, after I had already boarded LGA-ATL, I thought, "Hmm...I wonder if I could get on that LGA-CAK flight I saw at the other gate." The dashing and re-booking happened only after I deplaned.