I've been silver on UA, DL, NW and US, but usually not even that. Admittedly, most of this was before the proliferation of fees.

Maybe I've just been exceptionally lucky with upgrades, but I usually got upgraded as silver. The time I got to Vegas rested and relaxed and ready to party. The 8:30AM flight to Berumda after a 6AM connection, when I had a job interview as soon as I got there. The best one was a week before my last Silver status expired, on Christmas eve, flying from our California vacation to my parents in Pennsylvania with my girlfriend. Yes, it's just domestic F, I don't remember if they even fed us, but it was just relaxed and comfortable enough to make the trip actually fun. (Don't ask me how as a Silver I got us BOTH upgraded. I think I was upgraded at T-72 but she wasn't upgraded until T-24.)

Status isn't the best thing since sliced bread, but even for a lowly silver, yes, it's mattered a lot to me over the years.