Detroit sports fans are elated this morning as mayor David Bing has announced the city’s football team, the Detroit Lions, will make an appearance in Madden 10 – as downloadable content. The Lions, along with the St. Louis Rams and the Kansas City Chiefs, had originally been cut from the popular football franchise in 2008 after EA executives assumed the three teams’ absence was unlikely to be noticed.

Lions fans, who put up with last season’s 0-16 record along with a disintegrating automotive industry, are now founding their hopes of a brighter future on the downloadable content. A groundswell of optimistic fans believes the DLC might even return the team (and the city) to relevancy.

Bing is happy to discuss the venture that he says may “make [his] city the next Cleveland.”

“First we got the face, Mathew Stafford, our first-round draft pick. Now we’re in Madden. Sort of.” says Bing at his mayoral office, a Mini U storage unit off 7 Mile Road. “You can’t say as much about ol’ St. Louie.”

EA executives have responded cautiously about the partnership. “Sure, the DLC will muster a few downloads, but I cannot say I earnestly expect it to sell outside the single digits,” says EA Sports president Peter Moore, “Look, it costs money to program a whole team. We’re not hear to humor a couple of stalwarts. We’re here to make money.”

Early rumors estimate Detroit’s inclusion as DLC cost the city upwards $2.6 million, though Bing’s advisers say the publicity could quadruple tourism.

While Bing sets up a perimeter of mousetraps around his folding table, he brushes off concerns over the city’s future. “Things are tough, nobody’s saying they aren’t, but I think we’ve put all our eggs in the right basket.”

For better or worse, expectations are low for Bing, Detroit’s latest in a long line of often crooked mayors. Bing follows former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick who had been charged with felony while still in office and surrendered his position as part of a plea bargain that included two felonies for obstruction of justice.

“He only lost two millions dollars? And we’re in a video game?” asks Elissa Timbers, a local dental assistant. “Well, I’ll be. Things are looking up for Detroit.”