I have to say, I am honestly not sure why people want an FAL so badly. M1A I get, its a classic. FAL though, seems like there are lots of better and less expensive options out there.
Historic reasons same as the M1A. FAL is the right arm of the free world. It was used nearly everywhere. Far more than the M14. The FAL, G3, and M14 are the trio that were used (and I think in order of number used.) I snagged a FAL just before the MD ban for that reason. I don't like shooting it much. DSA trigger is HORRIBLE so I just dug it out of the safe a week ago and will send to Williams for a trigger job. Only took 6+ years to get around to it