Things Going On Back In 2004

It was 20 years ago today that our Tampa Bay Lightning won their first Stanley Cup. Back then, it wasn't called Amalie Arena. The Bolts lifted their first Cup in the St. Pete Times Forum. Of course it wouldn't be the last time the Tampa Bay Lightning won the Cup. But it's fun to look back and see the things going on back in 2004 to put it all in perspective.

The Tampa Bay Lightning poured champagne in the locker room after defeating the Calgary Flames in game seven of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals. Back on June 7, 2004. Hulk Hogan got the crowd fired up as Dave Andreychuk and Vincent Lecavalier led the Lightning to their first championship.

Around the world, things were changing. Technology was evolving. The internet had become a part of our daily lives. Social media wasn't a thing quite yet. The Lightning's first Stanley Cup win wasn't the big sports headline that year. Instead, a mishap at the Super Bowl is still being talked about to this day.

Here were some of the big things going on back in 2004 when the Tampa Bay Lightning won their first NHL Stanley Cup.

The FCC received over a half million complaints. CBS got fined. Who was to blame? Janet Jackson told Oprah it was not planned. The plan was to rip a piece of Janet's outfit, but she says Justin Timberlake took too much off that wasn't planned. Janet says she immediately tried to cover herself up. Janet tells Oprah she regrets apologizing. Later Justin Timberlake would apologize for what happened.

The Tampa Bay Lightning's first Stanley Cup wasn't the biggest sports headline in 2004.  It was overshadowed by the end of a "curse."  It had been almost 100 years since the Boston Red Sox won a World Series.  But it happened in 2004 for the first time since 1918.

Nobody posted to Facebook when the Lightning won their first Stanley Cup.  Because Facebook didn't exist.  It's tough to remember a time when Facebook, Twitter and Instagram were not part of our daily lives.  Back then even MySpace was pretty new.  In 2004, the social media world took off thanks to Mark Zuckerberg and a few friends.  Created in the dorm rooms at Harvard, Facebook was born.

Michael Phelps swam into the record books at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece.  Representing Team USA, Michael Phelps over the years won 28 medals.  He won a record 8 medals in 2004.  He would later reveal that he struggled with ADHD and depression.  He even considered suicide after the 2012 Olympics.   He even had a few run ins with the law that grabbed headlines.

Martha Stewart going into prison made headlines in 2004.  Inmate 55170-0054 in West Virginia lived it up in her last days of freedom.  Stewart was convicted in 2004 of obstruction of justice to federal prosecutors who were looking into insider trading.