Once again, NFL Films illustrates just how different the AFL was from contemporary professional football.  The modern game has become so big, that while fans may be just as supportive of their teams as they were in years past, the interpersonal element is gone.  There is an increasingly large gap between professional football players and their fans, not only financial, but also in terms of status.  Players today appear to be untouchable.  In the AFL, players were part of local communities.  They played during the season, and then assimilated into the day-to-day work force once football ended for the year.  Fans had a much greater opportunity to actually interact with players.  That benefitted the league as well, as the AFL was constantly trying to increase their fan base.  This video does a good job of showing the relationship between the AFL and fans in general.