A look back at 1993: The year the Lions last won the division

Good old 1993: I remember it like it was yesterday. I'd get home from Emerson Elementary and wash away the day of third grade learning in Mrs. Wilkins class with the joy of the after school lineup up "Power Rangers", "Batman the Animated Series", "VR Troopers" and, of course, "Animaniacs." Nights would consist of the third season of "Fresh Prince" or TGIF, before I put on my sweet Detroit Lions Starter jacket and headed back to school in the morning.

Back when there was no mortgage or car payment to worry about. Back when my only concerns were whether or not I was getting a free ranger action figure for Christmas or how I could skateboard with an Icee and my sweet Nike's on. Also who's this Eddie Munster guy that everyone keeps saying I look like?

Mike Payton as Eddie Munster

The Lions weren't something I needed to worry about then because I knew that my Lions were the division champs. I couldn't register in my nine-year-old brain that the Lions wouldn't have a chance to do this again until I was 31. Now my 31-year-old brain won't allow me to be comfortable with this division lead. Just win the dang thing so I can live my life again! Sorry.

The 1993 Lions had all of your favorite names: Barry Sanders, Lomas Brown, Herman Moore, Brett Permian, Chris Spielman, Jason Hanson and, of course, Mel Gray. The team finished 10-6. They would go on to rank sixth in defense and sixth in rushing. But the 24th ranking in passing is likely what killed this team. Imagine if they had an actual quarterback. Sorry Rodney Peete.

That season will always be characterized by the playoff defeat at the hands of the Packers and the subsequent rise of a future Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre. The Lions never recovered from that loss. Maybe that's why they never won the NFC Central again. Perhaps it's why they've yet to win the NFC North. Maybe this is the year? We can all hope.

But today isn't necessarily about dwelling on the 1993 Lions. It's about looking at how much the word has changed since the Lions were last in this position. Here's some notable things that happened in 1993.

News

The first thing that sticks out is that Bill Clinton was elected as the 42nd President of the United States. We all know how things turned out. Some thought it was amazing, others thought it was horrible. Basically the definition of every presidential term.

The Storm of the Century

The storm of the century still holds records today. The blizzard caused 318 fatalities in all and ten million homes to lose power. Oddly enough, the city that recorded the largest amount of snowfall with 44 inches was Snowshoe, West Virginia.

Waco

I can't say I remember a whole lot from way back in 1993, but I definitely remembering hearing a lot about the incidents that happened in Waco, Texas. Everyone in the country was glued to their TVs to see what would happen when the ATF attempted to siege David Koresh's cult compound. 86 people were killed including Koresh. To this day, there are still many controversies surrounding the raid and the cult that inhabited the compound.

Entertainment

I should have led with this. Well, now that the room is down, let's bring it back up with this masterpiece that came out in 1993.

I remember going to the theater to see this with my dad. Everyone was talking about Jurassic Park. Maybe that's why it was the highest grossing film of 1993. To date, the film has made $1.029 billion and has spawned four sequels.

Whitney sets an unreachable bar

In 1993, Whitney Houston made her acting debut in "The Bodyguard." The movie is not very good. But on the soundtrack, Whitney covered Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You" and sang the song in a way that may never be matched again. Since then, many have tried to get on this level or even beat it on singing competitions or by covers, but it just can't be done.

Demolition Man snubbed at the Oscars

Okay, so Demolition Man wasn't even nominated. But I will argue with everyone in the word who thinks it's not a good movie. The film that did win best picture that year? Unforgiven. Great movie, but go ahead and try to tell me you've seen it more than three times in your life. Liar! Demolition Man is a cinematic achievement that you've probably seen once a year since 1993. This just got a little personal. Let's go to sports.

Sports

By far the craziest thing that happened in the sports world in 1993 was this:

Michael Jordan retired for the first of three times. It freaked everyone out and created DeAndre Levy-like rumors such as he retired because of gambling debts.

Championship teams

The Dallas Cowboys would go on to beat the Buffalo Bills in the Super Bowl. This would be the Bills' third straight loss in the Super Bowl. They would lose a fourth the next year. The Blue Jays won the World Series on a walk-off, Joe Carter home run that you still see replays of every year. The Montreal Canadiens won their 24th Stanley Cup over Wayne Gretzky and the Kings. Lastly, the Bulls won their third straight NBA Title. As I mentioned earlier, Michael Jordan retired a few months later.

Local teams

If you're wondering, here were the records of our local Detroit teams in 1993. The Lions were 10-6 as we talked about already. The Pistons finished 40-42 and missed the playoffs. The Red Wings finished 47-28-9 but were knocked out of the playoffs by the Maple Leafs in a seven game series. Lastly, the Tigers finished 85-77 and missed the playoffs.

There you have it, Lions fans. What will the world be like when the Lions win the division again? Will it be this year? Be sure to leave your thoughts below.