Well, I blame AA. It may sound petty, but there was weather in Denver apparently, that caused a gate delay of an hour or so. AA loads the plane and then says, "well, there is still weather in Denver, so we'll sit on the tarmac for an hour and 45 minutes until we can take off". Personally, I would rather have been sitting in the terminal. I suspect, but do not know, AA would rather have kept us hostage rather than risk losing filled seats if they had let us know how late they would be.
The capper was the FA telling me "Well, we were only an hour delayed". I don't think pushing back from the gate is a departure. Moving in constant motion to the destination is a departure.