mcmitchell - The crew behind me stayed behind me.

Josher747 - To which I'd respond "without us (passengers), your butt's sitting home on a couch watching The Price Is Right".
Seriously, the whole thing is a delicate system of sorts. You need us. We need you.
I can't think of any other service industry where employees so openly jump in front of paying customers (i.e., I know it happens but it's usually more hidden).

TTT - Totally correct. Very often, the crews treat it like an entitlement without any acknowledgement.