In the era before free agency, a player was drafted to your team and they would remain on your team for years. They weren’t constantly changing teams, so you rooted for those players and they were in your life as a fan year after year. There was a connection to players that outside of a few “big name” players just doesn’t exist anymore.
Ask a longtime fan of the Denver Broncos to name some of their favorite players and “Super Sam” Sammy Winder would be right there at their top of the list. Winder was not big powerful bruiser or a fast homerun hitter, but he had the heart of a Lion and got the absolute most out of his abilities to lead the Broncos in rushing during the 80’s. Drafted in 1982, Sammy made a ton of hard-nosed tough yards that made many of those John Elway comebacks possible.