Pete Freedman
From Breaking News Stories To Rants About Why Garbage Things Are Trash, These Are the 17 Articles That Drew The Most Eyeballs To Central Track in 2017.
Every year around this time, we like to take a look back at the stories that drew the largest audiences to Central Track. The idea, at least in theory, is to learn a little something about our efforts, about what works best and, perhaps, about what doesn’t.
So, what can we learn from the below list of our most-read stories? Well, certainly one thing: If we could convince a closing music venue to host a free screening of a Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather while a band from the 90s reunites and the floor collapses and someone maybe gets stabbed outside, well, we just might break the internet.
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Alas, until we figure out how to make that happen, we’ll just have to hope our efforts at breaking news, writing editorials and putting together entertaining lists and quizzes continue to work their magic.
Anyway, here are the stories of ours that you read the hardest in 2017, Dallas. Thanks for the clicks!
17. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT NEW MAV DENNIS SMITH JR. // With The No. 9 Pick In The NBA Draft, The Dallas Mavericks Selected A Confident, Talented Point Guard Who’s Friends With Rapper J. Cole.
Author: Pete Freedman.
Date published: June 22, 2017.
Why We Think This One Was So Goddamn Popular: Because we gamed the system. We started compiling notes on DSJ when all the mock drafts had the Mavericks taking him. Then we started writing it when the Mavericks were on the clock and all the mock drafts had been proven right. We finally published this post right after he was officially selected, meaning we hit a sort of “golden hour” both on Twitter and on Google News. That then led to a number of NBA blogs linking to our piece. As a result, this story had a big surge on draft night, and has barely been viewed since.
16. ALRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT! // Following October’s Successful Rick & Morty-Themed Art Show, Barcadia Fort Worth Will Now Host A Bob’s Burgers-Themed Art Exhibit On February 26.
Author: Pete Freedman.
Date published: February 14, 2017.
Why We Think This One Was So Goddamn Popular: We guess it’s because people really like this TV show? Seems like the only reasonable explanation. I was even interviewed on the radio program “Texas Standard” about this piece, for reasons that remain unclear to me. We spend a lot of time on certain stories we publish, but I wrote this one in less than 10 minutes. The internet is so dumb sometimes.
15. [QUIZ] CHIPS AHOY! // Can You Match The Tortilla Chip To Its Dallas Restaurant?
Author: Allie Williamson and Lauren Kuehmeier.
Date published: July 7, 2015.
Why We Think This One Was So Goddamn Popular: Because it’s still funny and still insanely difficult.
14. FLOOR COLLAPSES AS OFF-CAMPUS UNT PARTY GETS TOO HYPE. // Videos Show Floor Collapsing Under A Lively Off-Campus University Of North Texas Homecoming Party At A Denton Apartment Complex.
Author: Obed Manuel.
Date published: November 12, 2017.
Why We Think This One Was So Goddamn Popular: FOMO, I imagine?
13. THE TEXAS RANGERS’ CHOSEN JERSEY NICKNAMES, RANKED. // In Late August, The MLB Is Rolling Out Alternate Uniforms With Its Players’ Chosen Nicknames On The Backs. Let’s Rank The Rangers’ Choices.
Author: Sidney Johnson.
Date published: August 16, 2017.
Why We Think This One Was So Goddamn Popular: Hmmmm. Not sure. Maybe other publications didn’t do this no-brainer of a piece, so ours was the only place where the curious Google user could turn for answers? That’s our best guess.
12. THE DOOR IS LEAVING DEEP ELLUM AT THE END OF DECEMBER. // The All-Ages Venue Where Major Bands Like Fall Out Boy and Paramore First Performed In Dallas Will Close As Owners Seek A New Home For It Elsewhere.
Author: Obed Manuel.
Date published: November 1, 2017.
Why We Think This One Was So Goddamn Popular: News like this always draws clicks, sure. But nostalgia is also extremely hot these days, especially among the twentysomethings who were teens when they attended this venue during its heyday. Only ’90s kids will get this!
11. NEW TEXAS BILL WOULD MAKE RUNNING OVER PROTESTERS LEGAL. // Drivers Wouldn’t Be Held Liable For Running Over Protesters Who Are Blocking Traffic If Denton County House Rep. Pat Fallon’s Proposed Bill Passes.
Author: Obed Manuel.
Date published: July 21, 2017.
Why We Think This One Was So Goddamn Popular: Because this story came out right before the Charlottesville protests in August, where Alex Fields Jr. allegedly ran over and killed Heather D. Heyer with his car. In the aftermath of that attack, this story was linked to in a number of pieces that wondered why such legislation would ever be needed.
10. TRIPPING DAISY IS BACK! // It’s Official: Tripping Daisy Is Reuniting For At Least One Hometown Show In Dallas In May 2017.
Author: Pete Freedman.
Date published: January 5. 2017.
Why We Think This One Was So Goddamn Popular: Because Dallasites love nothing more than 1990s Deep Ellum rock heroes.
9. WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED AT TRUTH & ALIBI LAST NIGHT? // Beyond The Fact That There Was An Apparent Stabbing Outside Of Deep Ellum Nightclub Truth & Alibi, The Entire Scene That Unfolded There Was A Total Mess.
Author: Pete Freedman.
Date published: June 30, 2017.
Why We Think This One Was So Goddamn Popular: Because deepellumdrama.com.
8. DPD IS SO FUCKED. // In Which We Run Down The Many, Many Serious Problems The Dallas Police Department Is Facing.
Author: Alex Gaskin.
Date published: January 31, 2017.
Why We Think This One Was So Goddamn Popular: Because this remains a real issue and not enough people are talking about it.
7. FUCK YOU, DALLAS MORNING NEWS. // Oh, We “Failed” By Calling Out The State Fair For Its Many, Many Ills? You Hypocrites Just Nominated A White Supremacist As Texan Of The Year.
Author: Pete Freedman.
Date published: December 27, 2017.
Why We Think This One Was So Goddamn Popular: Because naming Richard Spencer one of their nominees as Texan of the Year was super dumb, and so was the paper’s needless attempt at trying to pick a fight with us.
6. RANKED. // The 20 Most Popular Porn Stars From Dallas-Fort Worth.
Author: Cory Graves.
Date published: February 23, 2015.
Why We Think This One Was So Goddamn Popular: Because local masturbation fodder is the best masturbation fodder? We can’t say for sure about that. But we’re not mad at the fact that people are always eager to clock on this post whenever we share it on our social channels — on slow news days, mostly, but sometimes late at night. Because, hey, been there.
5. LOOK AT THESE IDIOTS GOING NUTS OVER THE “GAS SHORTAGE.” // Thursday’s Social Media-Fueled Rush On Area Gas Stations Led To Some Seriously Embarrassing Behavior At Pumps Around Dallas.
Author: Pete Freedman.
Date published: September 1, 2017.
Why We Think This One Was So Goddamn Popular: For the lulz.
4. REMINDER: THE DEEP ELLUM ARTS FESTIVAL IS GARBAGE. // The Deep Ellum Arts Festival Is A Horrible Annual Tradition, And A Bad Appropriation Of The Neighborhood’s Cultural Cachet.
Author: Pete Freedman.
Date published: April 7, 2017.
Why We Think This One Was So Goddamn Popular: Because honesty is always the best policy.
3. WHERE TO SEE MAYWEATHER-MCGREGOR FOR FREE IN DALLAS. // If You’d Much Rather Spend Your Money On Beer And Food Than On This Fight, These Places Are Showing Mayweather-McGregor With No Cover Charge.
Author: Obed Manuel.
Date published: August 24, 2017.
Why We Think This One Was So Goddamn Popular: Because, sometimes, it’s easy to guess what people might be googling in a given week.
2. THAT’S MY HOOD. // How Dallas’ Neighborhoods Got Their Names.
Author: Cory Graves.
Date published: May 4, 2015.
Why We Think This One Was So Goddamn Popular: Because some local civic-minded types who didn’t pay us any mind a couple years back when we first posted this went and noticed how much we grew over the summer and shared this with all their friends after we re-posted it one evening early on in the year.
1. [QUIZ] WHICH DALLAS STEREOTYPE ARE YOU? // Try As You Might To Stand Out, You Probably Fit One of These Bills.
Author: Staff.
Date published: March 19, 2015.
Why We Think This One Was So Goddamn Popular: Because this has been our top story for three years running now, and probably will continue to be until we come up with a better quiz idea.