新加坡多多开奖记录

They鈥檙e both Great Lakes region cities with similar industrial-driven, gritty culture and history, trying to find their way in a changing economic landscape.

The football teams in those towns have endured years of struggles and ill fortune, only to rise to Super Bowl hopefuls over the past several seasons.

The communities live and die with their hometown team, and their attitudes and hopes many times swing like a pendulum depending on how the franchises are doing.

These days, the teams are certainly on the upswing, and the belief that鈥檚 resulted in the two communities has been palpable.

When the 12-1 Lions and 10-3 Bills meet at 4:25 p.m. today at Ford Field in Detroit, the game will be one of the NFL regular season鈥檚 premier matchups and is even being billed as a potential Super Bowl preview.

It鈥檚 been over 30 years since the teams met during a season in which both will make the playoffs.

鈥淭he hope that is established in communities when two great teams like this do as well as they鈥檙e doing this year just changes the culture of community and the desire to see things move forward in the right way,鈥� said Dave Egner, president and CEO of the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation, which financially supports both Western New York and Southeast Michigan.

The symbiotic relationship between the two cities and their football teams has much to do with Bills longtime original owner Ralph Wilson, who grew up in Detroit but wound up making Buffalo his adopted home. His legacy in both places remains to this day through the work of the foundation that bears his name.

鈥淭here鈥檚 so much happening in these cities, so when these communities can rally around these teams and then win, the joy of that carries over into daily living,鈥� said Mary Wilson, the wife of the late Bills founder.

鈥淭his is a wonderful moment in time,鈥� she added. 鈥淭here鈥檚 so much attention being brought to the game because of this connection of Ralph to these two great cities that are so similar in many ways and the foundation that is helping both of them.鈥�

But the teams also share in something not as enviable 鈥� years of struggles on the field, which at times have served to dampen all the work being done to help grow both regions. That鈥檚 not the case this season.

While Buffalo has been on fire with enthusiasm for the Bills, who have now won five straight AFC East divisional titles, the same can be said of Detroit, which advanced to the NFC championship game last season for the first time since 1991.

The Detroit Police Department reports that crime rates have actually been going down since the Lions began their winning ways, according to Roxanne Caine, vice president of the Detroit Lions Foundation. Detroit also hosted the draft earlier this year, bringing more than 775,000 fans to downtown for the three-day event.

鈥淭here鈥檚 so much pride in this city and so much pride in this team, and it鈥檚 everywhere,鈥� Caine said. 鈥淔ive or six years ago, it was hard to find people wearing Lions gear and now no matter where you go someone is wearing something with Lions on it. It鈥檚 really awesome to have the love for this team transform the way people feel about the city and themselves.鈥�

Fans in both cities see eye to eye

Those shared experiences in sometimes difficult times have also created somewhat of a kinship between the two fan bases.

There鈥檚 a camaraderie between Lions鈥� fans, known as One Pride, and Bills Mafia, and the two fan bases have expressed excitement about gathering for this game.

鈥淏oth cities are blue-collar cities, and with both teams having struggled for years and now blossoming again, there鈥檚 definitely a connection there,鈥� said Andrea Morrow, a longtime Bills fan and president of the Detroit Bills Backers.

After being born and raised in Buffalo, Morrow moved to Detroit in 2015 for work but maintained her passion for the Bills.

鈥淧eople I work with support the Bills, because of me, and I tell them I support the Lions as long as they鈥檙e not playing the Bills,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd that鈥檚 how it seems to be with everyone I run into in Detroit.鈥�

The Lions have also opened their stadium for two Bills home games over the past decade, welcoming Buffalo fans when snowstorms made it impossible to play in Orchard Park.

As a thank you for hosting a November 2022 Buffalo game in Detroit, Bills Mafia donated to the Lions鈥� foundation, according to Caine. And then when Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest on the field a few months later, the Lions used that funding to promote CPR and AED education throughout their community, she said.

A powerful impact in two communities

Based in Detroit, the Wilson Foundation has made grant commitments of over $1 billion 鈥� almost 50/50 into the two markets 鈥� since it was formed in 2015.

Western New York and Southeast Michigan have similar issues in that they are traditionally manufacturing and industrial cities now adjusting to technology and having to grow in new ways.

The foundation鈥檚 resources are being used for a variety of causes, including youth sports, caregiving, parks and recreation, and organizations working for equity, community building and financial prosperity.

鈥淏oth places are retooling employment and culture,鈥� Egner said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been a blast to work in both places because of their similarities, and they both have unique assets while sharing an international border with Canada.鈥�

After working in the insurance business owned by his father and investing in mines and factories around Michigan, Wilson founded the Bills in 1960 and owned the team for 54 years before his death in 2014 at the age of 95. He aimed to make a significant and lasting impact by forming the foundation to disperse some of his fortune after his death.

鈥淗e loved both cities and he loved the game and fans, and now he鈥檚 making an even larger impact with his foundation,鈥� Mary Wilson said.

The late Bills owner once owned a small share of the Lions, who he鈥檇 been a fan of since his childhood. But with no path toward gaining more of a piece of the NFL team, he changed course, selling that portion of the Lions and paying $25,000 in 1959 to give the Bills their start in the AFL.

Egner said Wilson was a risk-taker who bet on Buffalo, calling him a 鈥済o for it on fourth-and-one kind of guy.鈥�

鈥淗e would have great admiration for (Lions coach) Dan Campbell and his courage to go for it on fourth down and (Bills quarterback) Josh Allen doing whatever it takes to get to the first down marker,鈥� Egner said.

Simultaneous success of teams has been rare

With Buffalo and Detroit having a lot in common, it鈥檚 special when the Bills and Lions meet, especially when both are doing so well, Egner said. But that has not been often over the years.

This will be only the second time that the teams will meet during a season in which both will make the playoffs. The only other time it happened was in 1991, when the Bills made it to the second of four straight Super Bowls, and the Lions reached the NFC championship game. The Bills lead the series, 7-4-1, dating back to when the teams met for the first time in 1972.

So, the excitement level for this matchup is through the roof, Morrow said.

Detroit Bills Backers are preparing to welcome the thousands of Bills fans who loyally travel to the team鈥檚 road games. They鈥檝e sold over 400 tickets to their 鈥淢otown Takeover Tailgate鈥� party from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday and are hosting a welcome party in Detroit the day prior.

鈥淎 lot of people are saying this is the preview to the Super Bowl, but I don鈥檛 say that because while I鈥檓 not a superstitious person, I like to go one week at a time, especially when it comes to the Bills. But it is a game everyone wants to see,鈥� Morrow said.

If this game turns out to be a Super Bowl preview, Mary Wilson said it would be 鈥渁 match truly made in heaven,鈥� referring to her late husband. It would also mean that one of the franchises would win their first Super Bowl.

While she adores Detroit, she鈥檒l be donning Bills blue when she attends the game Sunday.

鈥淚鈥檓 happy for Detroit and thrilled for the Lions and always thought they鈥檇 make a comeback,鈥� Wilson said. 鈥�(But) when I met Ralph in 1990, my introduction to the NFL was the Buffalo Bills so I fell in love with Buffalo and the Bills.鈥�

As for Egner, regardless of who wins, he said, 鈥淚 can鈥檛 lose.鈥�