Tim Tebow's father, Bob, dies at 78 following struggle with Parkinson's Disease
Tim Tebow's father, Bob, has passed away at the age of 78 after battling Parkinson's Disease.
Rasmus Dahlin and Josh Allen both arrived in Buffalo in 2018, becoming key players for the Sabres and Bills. While Allen has quickly led the Bills to success, Dahlin has faced challenges with the Sabres until recently ending a long postseason drought.
Rasmus Dahlin
BUFFALO, N.Y. â Rasmus Dahlin and Josh Allen arrived in Buffalo mere months apart in 2018 as foundational pieces for two franchises looking ahead to more prosperous futures.
The path to success proved far shorter for Allen and the Bills, with Dahlin â the Sabresâ captain â acknowledging feeling pangs of jealousy in seeing the out-pouring of love the quarterback and team enjoyed in becoming contenders.
And Dahlin is self-aware enough to understand why after spending his first seven seasons playing for a perennial disappointment before finally snapping an NHL-record 14-year postseason drought this year.
âIâve gone to so many Bills games, and the whole city is just behind them. And then we just kept losing. It was a bit of jealousy in there for sure,â Dahlin told The Associated Press. âBut Iâve always known that when we start having success, weâre going to have the same thing. So thatâs what kind of drove me for sure.â
Welcome to the party, said Allen.
âI know what itâs like when weâve got a packed stadium, and weâre rolling and that crowd gets buzzing. There is no other feeling,â the quarterback said. âThey must be going out for their pregame skates and just be like, âHoly cow, this is freaking amazing.ââ
Allen arrived first when the Bills traded up seven spots to draft him at No. 7 in April. The Sabres followed in June by selecting Dahlin first overall.
Though they have much in common in competitive drive, athletic ability and being unquestioned leaders, Dahlin and Allen know each other only in passing due in part because of how their seasons overlap.
What they lack in friendship they make up for in mutual admiration.
âTo see Rasmus and the way heâs progressed since he got here, you can tell by how much his teammates love him by how much they have his back,â Allen said about Dahlin. âHe plays with heart. And I like to think that I play with heart, too. So very similar styles.â
Itâs no different for how Dahlin views Allen.
âHeâs a big role model. I love what heâs doing,â Dahlin said.
âEverybody knows what he can do, but I would say leadership, the type of teammate he seems to be and how much he means to his teammates,â Dahlin added, noting heâd like to one day pick Allenâs brain on leading. âI want to hear his journey. I want to hear where he comes from and his career, his ups and downs.â
Rasmus Dahlin and Josh Allen both arrived in Buffalo in 2018.
Rasmus Dahlin experienced a long postseason drought with the Sabres, which lasted 14 years until it was finally snapped this year.
Josh Allen has quickly led the Bills to become contenders in the NFL since his arrival in 2018.
Rasmus Dahlin acknowledged feeling pangs of jealousy over the love and success that Josh Allen and the Bills have received.
Tim Tebow's father, Bob, has passed away at the age of 78 after battling Parkinson's Disease.
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And thatâs where their paths differ, from age, culture and expectation.
Allen, 29, is from the central California farm town of Firebaugh, and was mostly ignored coming out of high school. After two years at Ridley Junior College, he finally landed a scholarship at Wyoming.
The doubts followed Allen into the draft, in which he was regarded as being a raw talent with accuracy issues.
Dahlin, 26, is from Lidkoping, Sweden, and pegged on the fast-track for greatness at an early age. By 16, he made his debut in the Swedish Elite League, and made his Olympic debut in South Korea before being drafted by Buffalo.
It was in Buffalo, where their trajectories diverged again. Allen, the NFLâs 2024 MVP, essentially has re-written the Bills passing and scoring records, while leading the team to seven-straight playoff appearances.
Dahlin has been exceptionally productive, ranking second on the team list in most defensive scoring categories behind Hall of Famer Phil Housley. But his personal production didnât translate into team success until this year.
Allen is more outgoing by nature, while Dahlin comparatively reserved, in part because he needed time to adapt to living in North America and learning English.
âThereâs a bunch of different styles of leading a team, and Iâve seen from watching as an outsider how Josh leads â gets the crowd into it, fires guys up,â Sabres forward Jordan Greenway said. âRas maybe doesnât talk as much, but when he does, you listen, and he definitely leads every time on the ice.â
It hasnât been since 1999-2000 when both teams made the playoffs in the same season. Allenâs arrival came a year after the Bills ended their own 17-season playoff drought.
âWhen the Bills are playing good, this cityâs better. When the Sabres are playing good, this city is even better,â Allen said. âIt feels good when youâre getting love for doing what you do at a high level. And thatâs what they are getting right now.â
Dahlin is living it.
âI went to Wegmanâs yesterday and I think I got 50 high-fives of people saying, âLetâs go, Buffalo,ââ he said of a recent trip to the grocery store, finally getting a taste of what Allen has experienced.
âWe come from two different places,â Dahlin said. âBut itâs cool how it all came together.â