January 30, 1999: Britney Spears Hits Number 1

January 30, 1999: Britney Spears hits Number 1 on the Billboard magazine Hot 100 with her debut single, "…Baby One More Time." So much has been made of this song that it seems surprising that it was Number 1 for only 2 weeks.

She had just turned 17 the preceding December 2, so her frequent display of herself in revealing outfits, including the shirt-tied version of a Catholic schoolgirl outfit in the video for this song, had people questioning her value as a role model for teenage girls. Her use of autotune had people questioning her talent as a singer: Sure, she was attractive, and she could dance, but hadn't an entire generation of MTV shown that a performer should be more than that?

No, it had proven the opposite: People wanted what they were getting. Girls wanted to be her, and boys just wanted her. Somehow, this straight white Southern girl even became a gay icon. And through all her ups and downs, her fans, like Elvis' and Michael Jackson's, have never deserted her.

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January 30, 1999 was a Saturday. Baseball was out of season. The NBA season was delayed due to the team owners locking the players out, and it wouldn't begin for another 6 days. Football season would end the next day, when the Denver Broncos beating the Atlanta Falcons, 34-19 at Pro Player Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida.

There were 13 games in the NHL, with every team in the League in action except the Phoenix Coyotes:

* The New York Rangers beat the Detroit Red Wings, 3-2 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.

* The New York Islanders lost to the Ottawa Senators, 9-2 at the Corel Centre (now the Canadian Tire Centre) in Ottawa.

* The New Jersey Devils lost to the Nashville Predators, 3-2 at the Continental Airlines Arena at the Meadowlands. Sébastien Bordeleau scored the winning goal with 2:17 left in overtime.

* The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, 6-2 at the First Union Center (now the Xfinity Mobile Arena) in Philadelphia.

* The Dallas Stars beat the Florida Panthers, 5-2 at the National Car Rental Center (now the Amerant Bank Arena) in the Miami suburb of Sunrise, Florida.

* The Carolina Hurricanes beat the Montreal Canadiens, 3-1 at the Molson Centre (now the Bell Centre) in Montreal.

*  The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Washington Capitals, 5-3 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. That arena closed 2 weeks later.

* The Buffalo Sabres beat the Los Angeles Kings, 4-1 at the HSBC Arena (now the KeyBank Center) in Buffalo.

* The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Boston Bruins, 5-2 at the Mellon Arena (as the Civic Arena was then known) in Pittsburgh.

* The Colorado Avalanche beat the San Jose Sharks, 5-0 at the McNichols Arena in Denver.

* The Calgary Flames beat the St. Louis Blues, 4-3 at the Saddledome in Calgary. Jeff Shantz scored the winning goal with 1:39 left in overtime.

* The Edmonton Oilers beat the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, 1-0 at the Skyreach Centre (as the Northlands Coliseum was then called) in Edmonton.

* The Vancouver Canucks beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 3-2 at GM Place (now the Rogers Arena) in Vancouver.