On Sunday night, we saw a huge traffic spike in groups across the U.S. during the last game of the NBA Finals, peaking during the last hour of the game. In fact, near the end of the game, the count of messages per hour was nearing 3 times average hourly levels. Check out the chart:

(all times EDT)

The spike was so dramatic and pronounced that we nearly assumed it was a record. 

A search of our database, though, revealed an even busier hourlong period on a different Sunday night a few weeks prior. On Sunday, May 1, the 11PM EDT hour was even higher, well above 3 times average traffic, and lightyears away from the rest of the pack. So what happened then? 

It was the precise hour of President Obama’s press conference announcing the death of Osama bin Laden. Talk about a newsworthy event.

We’re thrilled that people nationwide are using GroupMe to talk about exciting moments in the news as they happen with their closest friends and family, and we look forward to seeing this record broken again and again over the coming months.