Great photos by the OP.
Yes, I grew up in the 60s-70’s. Loved the AFL and still have the AFL football cards and a few old team photos from the time. I really think part of the charm of the AFL and NFL pre merger was the scarcity of the product. Sunday games, fewer teams, the switch from 12 to 14 games, you got your info from newspapers ( Buffalo had two), radio, magazines. A Bills highlight show once a week on local TV. Of course the players were different too, many of them worked another job in the offseason, few were training year round. The players as a whole were definitely more reserved/modest, one only need watch the old films to see that.
I definitely like the stripped down coverage and there seemed to be more clarity on the rules and calls ... today everything is over blown, over-analyzed, and almost every call on the field open for debate. In comparison, Less is more.
The AFL was a catalyst for Pro football’s growth. Once the leagues started stealing players that really led to the fast merger. Monday Night Football was probably the thing that took the NFL popularity to the next level.
As for all this stuff about older fans knowing more about football and rebuilds than younger fans I think that is total BS. Todays fans know a ton of information, stats, fantasy leagues, social media, endless talk shows and highlights, streaming and restreaming, blogs, tweets, forums, etc, etc. etc.