HISTORY
Mesmerizing
Dee Brown had already inflated his Reebok Pumps to win the 1991 Slam Dunk Championship. Dominique Wilkins had already rocked his Pumps in hundreds of human highlight films. High off their own success, Reebok signed their biggest act yet: 7-foot, 300+ pound Shaquille O’Neal, the NBA’s first draft pick in 1992. O’Neal would begin his oversized career by scoring 23.4 points per game on his way to winning Rookie of the Year honors and helping the Orlando Magic double their win total from the previous season.
With a pitchman this big, Reebok set aside the Pump and designed one of the most eye-popping sneakers ever. The Shaqnosis said worlds about its wearer—big, bold, and mesmerizing in his ability to get to the rim, seemingly whenever he wanted to. Complete with Reebok’s hexalite cushioning technology in both the forefront and the heel, the Shaqnosis complimented Shaq’s play in both performance and swag.
Three-peat!
Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls wanted a three-peat, but it wasn’t going to be easy. The Phoenix Suns had their eyes on the prize, dealing big in the off-season to add Charles Barkley to a stacked team. (He went on to win the MVP Award.) The Knicks went hard all year, beating out the Chicago Bulls for home court advantage in the Eastern Conference finals.
So what did MJ do? First he scored his 20,000th career point during the regular season. Then he tied Wilt Chamberlain with his 7th consecutive scoring title, averaging 32.6 points per game. Finally, after vanquishing Patrick Ewing’s Knicks once again, he averaged an NBA Finals record 41 points per game as the Bulls became the first NBA team in almost 30 years to win 3 Championships in a row. As Suns’ Head Coach Paul Westphal put it, "I don't even think Michael can stop Michael.''
Photo Credit: NBC Sports
Real World Wide Web
The Real World: New York premiers on MTV, ushering in a new era of television programming. Cast member Kevin Powell (later an activist and writer) told personal stories of police brutality in New York and allowed a new generation of American teenagers get a fresh understanding of racial tensions in America in an honest, up-front way. Sinead O'Connor ripped up a photo of the Pope on Saturday Night Live.
Bill Clinton was sworn in as the 42nd President. The World Wide Web, developed at CERN in Switzerland, saw a turning point when web browsers were invented. Suddenly, the world was connected like never before and communication changed forever. The recession that plagued the country began to turn around. Disneyland Paris opened its castle gates in flurry of protests. Immigration became a huge issue at home, while a war in Somalia that put American lives in danger was largely ignored.
MTV The Real World - series 1 in New York. With Eric, Julie, Andre, Norman, Becky, Heather, Kevin