What the world was like the last time the Lions won on Thanksgiving
The Lions have a chance to write a new chapter in their history as they face the Packers on Thursday. It will be their 22nd time meeting on Thanksgiving — the most between two teams on that date, according to ESPN Stats and Information.
Though Detroit is off to its best start in years, the Lions still have to get over the Thanksgiving hump. The Lions have lost every Thanksgiving Day game since 2016, when they beat the Minnesota Vikings 16-13.
The world looked a little bit different back then. Here’s a look back at the last time Detroit won on Thanksgiving:
November 2016 became the month of the “Mannequin Challenge,” a viral internet video where participants stood still as Rae Sremmurd’s “Black Beatles” played in the background. The trend took over social media, with many sports teams and celebrities chiming in with their versions.
Though the Lions didn’t participate in the challenge, multiple NFL teams did. After starting the season 7-1, the Dallas Cowboys recorded one on their team plane.
The Broadway musical about one of America’s Founding Fathers, Alexander Hamilton, dominated 2016 and won 11 awards at the 70th Tony Awards. Lin Manuel-Miranda and company joined the record books five days after Thanksgiving.
“Hamilton” became the first Broadway show to gross over $3 million for an eight-performance week. The play grossed $3.3 million in a week.
David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs have created a strong 1-2 punch in the backfield. However, they were at completely different stages of their careers during the Lions’ last Thanksgiving win.
Montgomery was in his freshman season with the Iowa State Cyclones. He ran for 141 yards against the West Virginia Mountaineers two days after Thanksgiving. Gibbs was just a freshman at Dalton High School in Georgia.
Netflix’s “Stranger Things” became the breakout show of the summer when its first season was released in July 2016. Within the first 35 days of its release, “Stranger Things” averaged 14.07 adult viewers, making it the third-most-viewed debut season of a Netflix original series in the last year.
The ensuing Super Bowl had an Eggo-themed commercial for the next season of the series.