What the World Looked Like the Last Time Peyton Manning Missed a Start

With the Colts QB about to miss his first start in 17 years, we take a look back at how different the world was back in 1994.

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Image via Complex Original
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Intro

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TV, Movies, & Gaming

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TV, Movies, & Gaming

No. 1 TV Show: Seinfeld. Arguably the greatest sitcom of all-time, Seinfeld was reigning supreme during Peyton's freshman year in college. Larry and Jerry are still on the run eating off of syndication, so pay attention and get your kick game up. These days, American Idol is currently on an eight-year run as the most-watched American TV series. SMH, we've got to do better.
No. 1 Movie: Forrest Gump. After 66 days in the box office, Forrest Gump earned more than $250 million. Homie ran the game. Literally. This year's No. 1 flick is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 2 which has earned over $375 million so far.
Must-have Gaming Console: Sega Saturn and PlayStation. With series like Sonic and Street Fighter, it seemed like Sega would be running the game for a while. Then PlayStation dropped. Released on December 3rd in Japan, Sony's graphics shitted on the competition. Nowadays, Sony still runs the game with the PlaySation 3 having sold over 50 million units.
Hottest Actress: Demi Moore. Not only was Demi already on her way to becoming the highest-paid actress of the '90s but her ridiculously hot role in Disclosure? Demi can show you better than we can tell. With her past success in Avatar and the anticipation of Colombiana, Zoe Saldana  ('Plex cover girl) is our pick for 2011's hottest actress.
Big TV Debut: Friends. Two days before Peyton's last missed start, September 22nd 1994, you were introduced to a group of hot (half of 'em at least), often annoying pals in a series that would be on TV for the next decade. We weren't mad about seeing Jennifer Aniston on a regular basis, but we were pissed every time that corny-ass theme song got stuck in our heads. As far as this year goes, The Playboy Club should be a hit for a few obvious reasons.

Cost of Living & Finance

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Cost of Living & Finance

Price for a Gallon of Gas: $1.11. Today gas is at $3.72 per gallon. Yeah, you might want to peep this list. #thankuslater
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 3834. Today the Dow Jones average hovers just about 11,000. Moving on up! But so is something else...
National Debt: $4,800,149,946,143. When looking at today's national debt total of $14,722,899,715,691, it may look real bad but look on the bright side...it could be worse. Like, 2028 bad.
Price of the Illest Kicks: A lot of dope sneakers dropped in '94, but the CB34 Air Max 2's were no doubt the best. During MJ's departure from the NBA, the CB34s actually became Nike's most popular sneaker. They retailed for $150 back then but you can get 'em used on eBay for $115 if you're still fiendin' today.
Price of Apple Stock: $39 a share. With the iPod and iMac releases changing the tech game, today Apple's stock sits at $384 a share. Yeah, maybe we should've used some of that shoe money more wisely.

The Rap Game

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The Rap Game

What's Beef? On November 30, 2pac was shot in Quad Recording Studios in NYC and later accused Puff and B.I.G. of being behind the hit. That same year, Common dropped "I Used to Love H.E.R." on August 23, which would later set off a feud with Ice Cube and Westside Connection. Both beefs would make for some of the Best Diss Songs of All Time. It's worth pointing out that neither of these beefs involved threats of kidnapping the biggest female pop star of the day. 
No. 1 Hip-Hop Single: Coolio "Fantastic Voyage." From the sample of the Lakeside classic to the ultra '90s music video, you can't front that this was one of the most-memorable party tracks back in the day. Having the No. 1 Rap single sure beats getting caught with crack in the airport 15 years later. Damn, homie! *50 cent voice*
Classic Releases: Ready to Die, Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, and Illmatic. Need we say more?! Can you imagine what would've happened if Nas and Big had teamed up after the release of those records for a Watch the Throne-type release? We imagine there'd be less shout-outs to luxury hotels.
Lil Wayne's Wherabouts: A 12-year-old Weezy was a member of The B.G.'z, or "Baby Gangstaz," a duo he formed with fellow Cash Money member, B.G. The two recorded B.G.'z debut album, True Story. Wayne's come a long way—he has 11 singles charting on the Billboard Hot 100—but the same can't be said about his pants size.
What was DMX getting arrested for? Drug possession. Sadly being behind bars would remain a common theme for X throughout his career. Here's a extensive sampling of dude's arrest record.

The Sports World

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The Sports World

What was September like? Ten days before Manning's Volunteers debut, and two and a half weeks before his first start, Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig (some things never change) called off the '94 World Series due to the ongoing player's strike. Jason Kidd and Grant Hill were rookies preparing for their first pro training camps. In the NFL, the Rams and Raiders held their home openers in L.A., while the Oilers opened at home in Houston. Today MLB is going strong, while top NBA draft picks may not open training camp until next year. And L.A. still doesn't have an NFL team.
Derek Jeter's Whereabouts: Shortstop on the Triple-A Columbus Clippers. Before he started smashing every celebrity hottie you've dreamed of, DJ was moving up through the ranks of the Yankees farm system. In '94 Jeter was named the Minor League Player of the Year in a season where he batted .344 with five home runs, 68 RBIs, and 50 steals. 3,000+ hits later, Jeter is an worldwide icon.
Highest-Paid Athlete: Michael Jordan ($30 million). Even though MJ left the NBA to pursue a baseball career with the Birmingham Barons, he maintained his title as the highest-paid athlete. At least Jordan earned his. The same can't be said for these dudes.
The Champions: Houston Rockets, Dallas Cowboys, Brazil (World Cup), New York Rangers. No one remembers second place but everyone remembers the champs. Well, except the winners of the '94 World Series. The NBA Finals and Stanley Cup had two of their most memorable series ever with each going seven games. Brazil won the World Cup on our turf and the Cowboys blew out the Buffalo Bills 30-13 for their fourth Super Bowl title. The Packers, Mavs, Bruins, and Japan (World Cup) are the reigning champs of 2011.
LeBron James' Whereabouts: 10-year-old fourth grader in Akron, Ohio. Before he uttered that infamous "I'm taking my talents to South Beach" line, and before people ever started proclaiming him to be "The Chosen One," LeBron James now tapping into his natural athletic talent as he bounced around a number of elementary schools in the Akron area. That's cool and all, yet we can't help but wonder what the state of Bron Bron's hairline was at that age?
Years Since Last Red Sox World Series Win: In '94, the BoSox were 76 years removed from their last title, with another 9 to go before they broke the curse. This year, they're just 4 years out from a chip, with a great chance of picking up their third in 8 years this fall.

Politics

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Politics

Number of Alleged Bill Clinton Jumpoffs: Five. Paula Jones, Gennifer Flowers, Elizabeth Ward Gracen, Sally Perdue, and Dolly KyleIf all claimed the Prez was getting it in way before his days in the Oval Office. If we could somehow get in our DeLorean and head back to 1994, we'd tell Slick Willie to stay far away from any blue dresses he came across. Pun intended. 
House of Representatives: In September the House featured 256 Democrats and 177 Republicans, before the GOPers flipped the script on the Dems in November with Newt Gingrich as their party leader. Today it's 240-192 Republicans.
Whereabouts of Barack Obama: Con Law (that's short for Constitutional Law, but we'll leave that one in for our Tea Party readers to make jokes with) professor at the University of Chicago Law School. So, Obama went from discussing the subject of law with young adults to discussing our national debt with toddlers disguised as politicians (back at you TP!) reasoning with our nation's leaders on America's most-important issues.
Tea Party: In '94, a tea party more likely than not featured a bunch of liberals sitting around talking about how much they liked the president. In '11 the Tea Party features a bunch of conservatives sitting around talking about how much they dislike the president.
U.S. Senate: Republicans: 43 seats. Democrats: 57 seats. The Republicans would again upend the tables in November, picking up 9 seats. Today the Dems hold a 53-47 advantage.

Complex

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Girls, Computers, and Justin Bieber

SI Swimsuit Cover Models: Rachel Hunter, Kathy Ireland, and Elle Macpherson. When SI decided to put these three ladies on the cover, teenagers throughout the U.S. suddenly developed carpal tunnel. Kathy Ireland is still able to pump furniture because of this classic shot. This year it's Irina Shayk. We likes, we really likes.
Number of Internet Users: By November '94, 32 million. The net was just a baby back in '94 and even OG Bryant Gumbel was baffled by the new craze. As of right now, there are 245 million users in the U.S. and 2 billion worldwide. Again, about that carpal tunnel problem in the U.S. Don't front.
Justin Bieber's Whereabouts: Way before the homie started his hostile takeover of the world, Bieber was born on March 1, 1994 in London, Ontario. Why is he included here? Do we need to remind you?
Guy-girl scenes Jenna Jameson had been filmed in: Five. Hard to believe, but the porn legend started out doing only doing girl-girl and in '94 had only five guy-girl scenes under her belt. With a reported net worth around $70 million, it's safe to say all those money shots paid off. Pause.
Playmate of the Year: Jenny McCarthy. Ahh, the year we all got to know this hottie a little, uh...better (that damn carpal tunnel syndrome!). Sexy and funny chicks, FTW. 2011's POTY won't be announced until next year, but we're rooting for May's Sasha Bonilova. You know, because she's a Bonilova.

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