What was going on the last time the Detroit Lions won a division title?

This is not the Lions’ first division title, but it is the first time it won the NFC North. Back in 1993, the North was not yet a division. Detroit played in the NFC Central, which was comprised of the current four NFL North teams plus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Kansas City Chiefs brought in a couple of guys during the 1993 offseason that would have really made them formidable had it been a few years earlier. In addition to signing Marcus Allen from the Los Angeles Raiders, this was also the year they famously traded for Joe Montana. Montana was still good, but not in his prime.

The Patriots spent decades as the top franchise in the NFL, racking up Super Bowl appearances behind Bill Belichick and Tom Brady. Back in 1993, the team was not operating at peak levels. New England had the first overall pick in the 1993 NFL Draft, and it took Washington State quarterback Drew Bledsoe. He would, memorably, go on to be replaced by Brady at the beginning of the franchise’s dynastic run.

The Pats were bringing in a new quarterback, and also a new head coach in Bill Parcells. That wasn’t all, though. Prior to the 1993 season, New England ditched its “Pat Patriot” look for the “Flying Elvis” uniforms they have worn ever since.

Bledsoe started 12 games as a rookie, and he posted 15 touchdowns and 15 interceptions in the campaign. Those aren’t Offensive Rookie of the Year numbers. Instead, Los Angeles Rams running back Jerome Bettis, himself a future Hall of Famer, won the award. “The Bus” ran for 1,429 yards and seven touchdowns.

Smith retired as the all-time leading rusher in NFL history, a record that will likely never be eclipsed given the evolution of the sport. He only won one MVP, though, and it came in 1993. Honestly, the back was arguably better a few other times, and he only played in 14 games for the Cowboys this particular season. He ran for 1,486 yards and nine touchdowns, while averaging a career-best 5.3 yards per carry and also notching a personal high of 414 receiving yards.

The Lions won the NFC Central, but then lost to divisional rivals Green Bay in the first round. Ultimately, the Cowboys made it out of the NFC, where they met the Buffalo Bills. This was the second season in a row where Dallas and Buffalo squared off in the Super Bowl. It was also the second year in a row where the Cowboys won, with Smith emerging as the MVP. This marked the fourth, and final, Super Bowl in a row the Bills lost.

This was not a great year for future NFL running backs being born. Melvin Gordon is the only notable one, though Jay Ajayi did have a minute there. Marcus Mariota, a Heisman winner, was born in 1993, but the best quarterback born this year is clearly Dak Prescott. However, the receiving group is quite good. Michael Thomas, who set the record for most receptions in a season, is a 1993 birth, as are Cooper Kupp, Stefon Diggs and Mike Evans.

Baseball came to Colorado and Florida in 1993. The 1993 MLB season was the first for both the Colorado Rockies and the Florida Marlins, the latter now the Miami Marlins. They were both quite bad, though by 1997 the Marlins did win a World Series.

The Toronto Blue Jays won their second World Series in a row in 1993, beating the Philadelphia Phillies in six games. Game 6 was one for the books. Joe Carter famously hit a walk-off homer to clinch the World Series for the Jays. Touch ‘em all, Joe.

Barry Bonds and Frank Thomas, two of the best hitters ever, won the NL and AL MVP awards respectively. The Rookies of the Year were Tim Salmon and future Hall of Famer Mike Piazza. Most notably there are the Cy Young winners. Now, Greg Maddux winning is no surprise, but the AL winner was Jack McDowell of the Chicago White Sox. McDowell was a three-time All-Star, but he is not a Hall of Famer. What he did do, though, is win a league-high 22 games in 1993, back when wins were viewed by many as a sign of pitching quality. Randy Johnson and Kevin Appier were both decidedly better, but neither won 20 games so…

Charles Barkley won MVP in the 1992-93 season, but Michael Jordan got the last laugh. The Bulls would beat Barkley’s Suns in the NBA Finals. This was the third title in a row for Jordan and the Bulls. Of course, Jordan would then proceed to retire to play baseball for a couple years (for whatever reason).

Shaquille O’Neal’s size and strength made him a star in college, and also the obvious option as the first overall pick in the 1992 NBA Draft. In his first season with the Orlando Magic, he proved this was just the beginning. Shaq averaged 23.4 points, 13.9 rebounds, and 3.5 blocks per game to easily win Rookie of the Year. It would begin O’Neal’s rise to not just NBA stardom, but to being one of the biggest athlete celebrities of all time.

The legendary Drazen Petrovic had found his footing in the NBA, becoming a star for the New Jersey Nets. Sadly, after the 1992-93 season Petrovic was in Munich when he died in a car accident at the age of 28. Two months later, Celtics guard Reggie Lewis collapsed during a practice due to an underlying heart condition. He would die at 27.

The 1992-93 NHL season ended with the Montreal Canadiens hoisting the Stanley Cup after beating Wayne Gretzky and the Los Angeles Kings in seven games. It was the 24th Cup for the Habs and, to date, the last Cup won by a Canadian team.

Speaking of Canada, the Great White North got a new expansion team before the 1992-93 season in the Ottawa Senators. Meanwhile, down in the Sunshine State, the Tampa Bay Lightning played their first season as well.

Bettman has been a lightning rod for criticism and boos for decades now. During his tenure as NHL commissioner, he’s seen all the other major American sports leagues change commissioners. By the way, Bettman is the ONLY NHL commissioner in league history. Yes, he was the first person named commissioner by the league.

Lemieux was truly “Super Mario” during the 1992-93 season. He was actually on pace to break Gretzky’s records of 92 goals and 215 points in a season, but in January 1993 he received some bad news. The Penguins legend was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma. He would spend two months getting radiation treatment, but would actually return to the NHL that season. Lemieux would win the Art Ross with 69 goals and 160 points in only 60 games. Naturally, he would win the Hart, and also the Bill Masterton Award for perseverance.

Bettman’s time as NHL commissioner has been exemplified by rampant expansion to non-traditional markets. Indeed, prior to the 1993-94 season, the league added two more teams. They would be the Florida Panthers as well as the then-Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. On top of that, the Minnesota North Stars would move down to Dallas and drop the “North.”

England had top-flight soccer prior to 1992, but the introduction of the English Premier League helped to professionalize, and commercialize, English soccer. Now, the Premier League is by far the most lucrative of the world’s soccer leagues. In 1993, the inaugural Premier League season ended with Manchester United winning it all.

These days, MMA is huge. UFC is massive. Back in 1993, though, MMA was barely a thing, and UFC held its first event. The marketing was much different back then. Instead of pitching itself as legitimate sport, the first UFC event claimed to be “no rules” fighting, though there were a few rules. UFC’s first event was held in tournament form, with MMA legend Royce Gracie winning it all.

Sampras, arguably the greatest American tennis player of all time, had a nice year in 1993. He won his second US Open and his first Wimbledon. And yet, his year was one-upped by Graf. She won not only the US Open and Wimbledon, but also the French Open, giving her three Grand Slam titles.

Graf came close to winning every Grand Slam title in 1993, but she finished as the runner up to Monica Seles at the Australian Open. It should have been a chapter in a storied rivalry, but then one of the most-horrifying events to happen during a sporting event occurred. At an event in Hamburg, an unhinged fan obsessed with Graf stabbed Seles in the back. Seles would not play competitive tennis for over two years.

These days, college football realignment has become so common it never comes as a surprise. Back in the ‘90s, though, these moments were less common. The Penn State Nittany Lions had been an independent team, not unlike Notre Dame. Unlike Notre Dame, Penn State ceded independent status. The Nittany Lions would join the Big Ten prior to the 1993 season.

Ward’s future was in the NBA, but he had a college football career to remember as well. Playing quarterback for Florida State, Ward ran away with the Heisman vote. First-ranked Florida State would also play second-ranked Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. When the Seminoles won, they were easily named national champions. Speaking of bowls, the first Alamo Bowl happened in 1993 as well.

Imagine you’re a film director. Would you rather direct the highest-grossing movie of the year, or the Best Picture winner? Well, as the old meme says, get you a man that can do both. In 1993, Spielberg had both “Jurassic Park” and “Schindler’s List” come out. The former became the highest-grossing film ever at the time, and the latter won Spielberg both Best Picture and Best Director.

In the top 10 of the worldwide box office for 1993, you can find both “Sleepless in Seattle” and “Philadelphia.” Both films star Tom Hanks, and the latter won him Best Actor. Also in the top 10? Both “The Firm” and “The Pelican Brief.” Those are both adaptations of Grisham novels.

Tommy Lee Jones won Best Supporting Actor for “The Fugitive,” but “The Piano” was a big player at the Academy Awards. Holly Hunter won Best Actress, while Anna Paquin won Best Supporting Actress, even though she was only 11 at the time. Jane Campion, the film’s director, would also win Best Original Screenplay.

In January — not March — of 1993 “Leprechaun” hit theaters. The horror film would spawn a long-lasting series of horror comedies including trips to space and “the ‘hood.” Of course, “Leprechaun” is best known these days for the fact Jennifer Aniston made her film debut in the movie.

In 2023, the year the Lions brought their division-title drought, “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” was a massive hit. Even though Mario is an iconic character, Nintendo was hesitant to showcase him, or any Nintendo character, for years. That goes back to 1993 when the infamous “Super Mario Bros.” hit theaters. Instead of being a fun, animated film, it’s a weird live-action movie starring Bob Hoskins, John Leguizamo, and Dennis Hopper. The movie was such a flop, critically and commercially, that Nintendo steered clear of movies for decades.

River Phoenix, one of the promising young actors of his generation, suffered a drug overdose at Los Angeles’ Viper Room and died on Halloween. He was only 23. And yet, his death was not the most tragic to strike the film world in 1993. Brandon Lee was filming “The Crow” when a malfunctioning prop gun killed him. The movie was filmed around him posthumously.

The year 1993 was big for the “Worldwide Leader in Sports.” They held the first ESPY Awards, but on top of that a second channel, ESPN2, was added into the mix as well.

Few years were as significant for late-night television as 1993 was. In the wake of being passed over to replace Johnny Carson as host of “The Tonight Show,” David Letterman announced he was leaving NBC to go to CBS, where his new show would compete directly with “The Tonight Show.” Letterman’s new program debuted in August of 1993. Replacing Letterman at NBC? Lorne Michaels picked an unknown comedy writer named Conan O’Brien to take over “Late Night.” Oh, also “The Chevy Chase Show” debuted.

With all due respect to MTV’s cult sketch show “The State,” there are a few shows that debuted in 1993 that really changed the cultural landscape. One of them is arguably the best spinoff of all time. That would, of course, be “Frasier.” Over at FOX, “The X-Files” became not just a cult hit, but a cornerstone for the network. Then, speaking of MTV, in 1993 we saw the debut of none other than “Beavis and Butt-Head.”

Guy Fieri can thank his lucky stars for a 1993 debut. That year, Food Network launched as a network, though it would be many years until it was built upon competition shows. Also in 1993, while Cartoon Network already existed, the first original show on the network, “The Moxy Show,” debuted.

“Frasier” debuted in 1993, but that same year “Cheers” ended its iconic run. “The Wonder Years,” “Quantum Leap,” and “Doogie Howser, M.D.” ended their runs as well. Additionally, “Saved by the Bell” ended, but like “Cheers” it got an immediate spinoff. “Saved by the Bell: The College Years” debuted in 1993, but it was a fiasco.

The No. 1 single of 1993, as well as the highest-selling album, came from a film starring a singer. That movie would be “The Bodyguard.” The soundtrack to that film would be the biggest album of the year, thanks largely to Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You.” It topped the Billboard Hot 100 for nine straight weeks.

When it comes to worldwide sales, the biggest song of 1993 was Meat Loaf’s epic “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That).” A couple of one-hit wonders also had significant hits in 1993. Snow’s “Informer” topped the charts for several weeks in America (and presumably his native Canada), and 4 Non Blondes also hit with “What’s Up?”

“MTV Unplugged” had a few significant episodes, but none were as big as Nirvana’s appearance on the show. They performed their unplugged set in November 1993. The next year, Kurt Cobain would be dead.

Clinton bested George H.W. Bush (and Ross Perot) in the 1992 United States presidential election. As such, his inauguration would be held, as is tradition, in January of 1993. Fleetwood Mac reformed to play “Don’t Stop,” which Clinton had used as his campaign song, and Maya Angelou read a poem to mark the occasion.

The second the clock struck midnight and New Year’s Day began, Czechoslovakia was no more. It split into two countries after approximately 75 years in existence. Slovakia and the Czech Republic became the newest countries in Europe.

David Koresh and his Branch Davidian cult had a compound down in Waco, Texas that the United States government came to view with skepticism and concern. For 51 days, Texas government officials and federal officials took part in a standoff with the Branch Davidians. The FBI would get involved, and things would culminate in a fire of disputed provenance that claimed many lives, Koresh’s included.

In June 1993, Kim Campbell became the 19th prime minister of Canada. It was historically notable, as Campbell became the first female prime minister of the country. Her tenure would be brief, as Campbell’s run as PM ended in November of the same year.

With all due respect to Robert W. Fogel and Toni Morrison, one Nobel winner in 1993 stands above the rest. Nelson Mandela (and F.W. de Klerk) won the Nobel Peace Prize for their work to end apartheid in South Africa, which they successfully did starting with the 1994 election, which was won by Mandela. Not bad for a guy who died in prison alongside his beloved Berenstain Bears books.

You may remember the “Got Milk?” ad campaign. Did you know the first of these ads, which aired in 1993, was actually the “Aaron Burr” ad? Or that it was directed by Michael Bay? It’s all true!

Arcade cabinets were still notable business in 1993. While fighting games were big, of course, so was perhaps the iconic sports arcade game. That would be “NBA Jam,” of course. It debuted many elements that came to define sports games, and also brought us such iconic quotes as “From downtown!” and “He’s on fire!”

Do you like to play first-person shooters where you blast away a bunch of baddies with massive guns? Then 1993’s “Doom” is probably a favorite of yours, and also helped pave the way for many games in its wake. Or, do you prefer point-and-click adventures and puzzle games? If so, another 1993 release for computers, “Myst,” proved pivotal to the development of that style of gaming.

Something for nearly everybody debuted in 1993 on the food front. This was the year the first Texas Roadhouse, Tropical Smoothie Café, and Buca di Beppo’s opened. 1993 also saw the debut of something with a food-related name, the book series “Chicken Soup for the Soul.”

Indulge us, for a moment, as we list off the names of some celebrities who were born in 1993. We’ve got the likes of Jodie Comer, Keke Palmer, Ben Platt, Angus T. Jones (the titular Half Man), Chance the Rapper, Ariana Grande, Pete Davidson, Liam Payne, and Niall Horan. That’s double the One Direction!

Ending on a down note, huh? Well, some of these 1993 deaths came at the end of long, successful lives and remarkable careers. For example, “The First Lady of American Theater” Helen Hayes, who was 92 years old. Other notable 1993 deaths include Andre the Giant, Raymond Burr, Vincent Price, Fred Gwynne, Federico Fellini, Thurgood Marshall, and many more, from Arthur Ashe to Frank Zappa.