Thursday night was a special one for Amazon's ever expanding presence in the world of sports broadcasting. Yes, they aired the Chargers' dominant Thursday Night Football win over the Vikings. And yes, the show did serve as a sneak preview at the new studio that will serve as the nerve center for the studio's new coverage of the NBA (which begins Friday night). However, the clear most important development was the return of Red Panda.

The beloved halftime performer, whose name is Rong Niu, put on a show after the TNF broadcast, with much of Prime Video's roster of analysts present for the occasion. Former football stars like Ryan Fitzpatrick, Richard Sherman and Tony Gonzalez joined with their new NBA counterparts—Blake Griffin, Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash among them—to watch the legend at work.

And a legend Red Panda remains. While balancing on her unicycle with one foot, she flipped a stack of bowls, onto her head—a trick that has made her a beloved halftime show institution. The Prime Video analysts lost it, with Fitzpatrick and Sherman taking off on a run around the studio.

All joking aside, there was some added significance to Red Panda's return to the unicycle.

Niu took time off after suffering a scary fall from the unicycle at a WNBA game in July which resulted in a fractured wrist that required surgery. She vowed that she would return in a statement issued the next day.

Basketball returned to our lives with the start of the NBA season this week, and it appears that Red Panda is healed and ready to bring back her iconic show along with it.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Red Panda Made Her Triumphant Return at Prime's New Studio and Blew Richard Sherman's Mind.

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