Ah memories of the old days - pre-mobile boarding passes and transparent upgrade lists - when the only way you knew you got upgraded was waiting for that curt PA page and making the triumphant march to the podium through a sea of gate lice.
And the only way you knew where you stood on the list was asking the gate or club agent (or several) and pondering your chances vs the reliability of what the agent said.
Then there were the times pre-the whole carpet boarding era sometimes that upgraded boarding pass handoff would be met with a nod to just go and board before the others.