Wikipedia:Top 25 Report/June 24 to 30, 2018

The Top 25 Report

Most Popular Wikipedia Articles of the Week (June 24 to 30, 2018)[edit]

Prepared with commentary by Stormy clouds

← Last week's report – Next week's report →

Fifty (two) years of hurt, never stopped me dreaming[edit]

Soccer! "Football, said the rest of the f**king world." Bilbo Baggins is my spirit animal. Once again, the report is dominated by football, as the World Cup continues to infect Wikipedians worldwide like a chaotically cascading contagion. World Cup fever is tangible, especially across the pond. Apparently, it's coming home. They're even dropping 'arry and losing intentionally to dodge Brazil, the madlads. Shia LaBeouf seems to be excelling at this game of 4D chess he's playing. With a "handy" run to the semi-finals, hopefully he can put it away this time.

Anyway, other stuff has the audacity to occur during the World Cup, including death, Google Doodles, retirement, and other intrigue, diversifying the report to a certain extent. However, it is dwarfed by the swarms of interest provoked by World Cup fever. A great manager once said that football is much more important than life or death. This iteration of the report lays credence to that claim. I hope you enjoy it.

Without further ado, for the week of June 24 to 30, 2018, the 25 most popular articles on Wikipedia, as determined from the WP:5000 report were:

Rank	Article	Class	Views	Notes
1	2018 FIFA World Cup		4,855,112	The top 5 all relate directly to the ongoing World Cup, and I despise inefficiency, so let us attempt to address all five items in a succinctly synopsised fashion: Unless you live under a rock (or happen to be American), you are likely aware of the ongoing footballing festival in Russia, as the world's greatest teams (and Saudi Arabia) compete for the famous trophy. The tournament has been utterly compelling, and has induced feverous fanaticism globally, as evidenced by the massive number of views it has received. The Telstar has been involved in a copious number of screamers, including this peach, and has kept the eyes of the world on Russia. One of the greatest footballers of his era, Lionel Messi looks destined to end his career without a World Cup victory, after his native Argentina were eliminated by Mbappé (#7) and France. Whilst he is the proud recipient of five Ballons d'Or, he has failed to emulate his Argentinian peer, and footballing legend Diego Maradona, and seems destined to linger in his shadow; at the age of 31, he seems increasingly unlikely to lift the Jules Rimet trophy. His individual talent has led millions to adore him, but he has come up short on the world's greatest stage once again - in fact, he has never scored in the knockout stages of the World Cup, a monkey on the back that he will not shake in Russia. Once again, the popularity of the World Cup has led Wikipedians to research its history, both in terms of its origins, and the various vibrant locales where it has been hosted. As all football aficionados know, the first tournament was held in Uruguay in 1930, and was an invitational event. Conceived by Jules Rimet, then President of FIFA, the World Cup sought to breed unity and grow the prestige of the game globally, which I feel it has achieved greatly. Uruguay claimed victory in 1930, lifting the Jules Rimet trophy for the first time in glory, and the World Cup has only grown since, becoming the sporting behemoth which we know and love today. The original trophy, incidentally, was awarded in perpetuity to Brazil following their third win in 1970, and was replaced by the iconic trophy which is to be awarded this year. One of the greatest footballers of his era, Cristiano Ronaldo looks destined to end his career without a World Cup victory, after his native Portugal were eliminated by Cavani and Uruguay (#20). Whilst he is the proud recipient of five Ballons d'Or, he has failed to emulate his Brazilian namesake (pictured), and at the age of 33 seems increasingly unlikely to lift the FIFA World Cup Trophy. His individual talent has led millions to adore him, but he has come up short on the world's greatest stage once again - in fact, he has never scored in the knockout stages of the World Cup, a monkey on the back that he will not shake in Russia. (Weird parallels, huh)
2	Lionel Messi		1,266,982
3	FIFA World Cup	Fittingly	1,244,935
4	Cristiano Ronaldo		1,243,989
5	List of FIFA World Cup finals		1,042,913
6	Richard Benjamin Harrison		970,703	The "Old Man" on Pawn Stars died this week following a lengthy bout with Parkinson's disease, driving a typhoon of views towards his article from fans of the extremely-popular History Channel show. Harrison founded the shop in Las Vegas in 1981, along with his son, following a twenty-year tenure in the US Navy, and spawned a pawn-powered empire as a result.
7	Kylian Mbappé		852,932	France, in my view, have been one of the stand-out performers of the World Cup thus far, having dispatched with Messi and Co. just yesterday. The star of their squad is probably Antoine Griezmann, but their best player to date has been the young Mbappé, only 19 and already dominating the game. He hit headlines last year following his €180 million transfer to Paris Saint-Germain, and he has justified that lofty valuation with some stoic performances for Les Bleus.
8	Diego Maradona		828,139	While opinion differs as to whether or not he can be considered the greatest player ever, (a certain Brazilian may disagree), Maradona's status as a legend of the game cannot be denied. The man behind the Goal of the Century, divine intervention, a near-solo World Cup win, and the meteoric rise of Napoli as a footballing power, Maradona revolutionised the way football was played. He has recently been a stalwart at the World Cup, attending every game played by Argentina, and courting controversy in doing so.
9	Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis		806,907	Mahalanobis was an Indian mathematician and scientist, best known for his pioneering work in statistics and his eponymous distance. He was honoured this week with a Google doodle, which drove many curious perusers of the encyclopedia to investigate his work in greater depth and detail on his article. The statistician went by P.C., but remarkably did the vast majority of his mathematics without the aid of computation.
10	Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom		805,172	The mixed reception to the latest installment in the paleontologic Jurassic Park has not prevented it from roaring its way to massive box office receipts, as audiences flock to the multiplexes to see the latest exploits of featherless creatures. I found the film to be derivative and dull, but to each their own - many are enamoured by Peter Quill and his carnivorous pals.
11	XXXTentacion		803,631	The controversial rapper was killed in dramatic fashion last week, driving a massive spike in Wikipedians reading his article. Residual views following his shocking demise ensure that he maintains his spot in the Report.
12	2014 FIFA World Cup		771,470	With the current excitement around the World Cup, it is hardly shocking that many turned to take a trip down memory lane, venturing back to Brasilia. Germans, in particular, may have looked to Götze and the guys to remind them of happier days, when they were World champions. That's little consolation for them now, dumped out as the tournament's dredges, deposited in the doldrums at the bottom of Group F. I blame it on Shane Long.
13	Deaths in 2018		752,608	Given that the previous year's version of this article was the most viewed article last year, it is no surprise that the list of the deceased resides on the report once again. Morbid curiosity reigns again, this time underpinned by interest in #6, #11, and #18.
14	Anthony Kennedy		688,021	Kennedy, the longest-serving active justice on the Supreme Court of the United States, announced this week that he intends to retire from the post, which he took up in 1987 at the behest of the first presidential actor. Now, following his decision, there will be a vacancy in the court. As such, the other actor turned commander-in-chief will have the opportunity to fill the vacuous void with a conservative candidate, meaning that the court will have sacrificed its swing voter, and may lean to the right for years to come. Après lui, le déluge.
15	2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage		677,684	Finally, after 48 games of excitement and passion, we have reached the business end of the tournament, where the big names start to fall in stunningly competitive contests. Wikipedians anxious about the fate of their nation have journey in their thousands to the article, looking for information regarding the draw and games ahead, as well as the permutations of certain results on the tournament as a whole. Big names have already fallen, from Argentina to Portugal. Heavily fancied Spain were given a relatively easy draw (or not), and the entire world anticipates the excitement and anxiety that lies ahead. Serious business now, my friends. We are drawing near, and glory in Moscow awaits.
16	Sanju		654,335	Once again, Bollywood is represented on the Report, courtesy of Sanju, a biopic about actor Sanjay Dutt, directed by Rajkumar Hirani. The film, depicting Dutt's turbulent rise to prominence and subsequent fall from grace, opened to a massive box office take, collecting nearly 100 crore in its opening weekend, the highest opening of the year. This sum has stirred interest in the film in India, and propelled it into the report with ease.
17	Harry Kane		615,965	Harry Kane has been carrying England through the World Cup to an even greater extent than the Boeing 747 carrying the Germans. Kane has been prolific in his capacity as a striker, whether wearing the white of Tottenham Hotspur or the Three Lions. In fact, he can even score goals through telekinesis. Harry is fighting hard to secure the Golden Boot, as is well on his way following the most underwhelming hat-trick of all time (two penalties and an in-off against Panama). Golden Boy, the oldest "young" player of the year nominee, is leading England to glory.
18	Joe Jackson (manager)		545,749	Joe Jackson, the father and manager of seminal Motown group Jackson 5, as well as its break-out star, the King of Pop, died from pancreatic cancer this week, and landed on the Report as music fans moved to read about the controversial father, whose reputation was irrevocably scarred by allegations of abuse against his children.
19	Sanjay Dutt		541,534	Sanjay Dutt, a prominent actor in Bollywood, is the subject of #16, a biopic about his life. He is a prolific performer, with over 180 film credits, and is most famous for his action roles. He has been typecast as a hard-man, like an Indian Rock. However, Dutt has also been convicted of crime, as he was incarcerated for illegal possession of firearms.
20	Uruguay		525,882	Uruguay, a small nation with a population of merely 3.44 million (roughly one-twelfth of the Tokyo metropolitan area), perennially overachieve in footballing terms. They are to football what the All Blacks are to rugby union. They have claimed glory in the World Cup twice, and continue to thrive, with a brilliant front-line consisting of Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez. Already qualified for the quarter-finals, Uruguay are considered dark horses, and punch far above their weight in the soccer sphere.
21	Nick Jonas		516,026	Jonas, similarly to Pete Davidson in last week's report, has attracted swathes of viewers due to a romantic connection. News broke this week of a potential relationship brewing between the singer and Priyanka Chopra, which led those interested in Chopra to investigate her new beau, driving him into the report. I guess that love is in the air.
22	2010 FIFA World Cup		511,184	There are many enduring memories of the first World Cup to be held in Africa. We have poor innocent Ireland being cheated out of a spot by Thierry Henry. We have Shakira's global behemoth of a hit - Waka Waka. We have the vividly horrific screech of vuvuzelas, ensuring that every match induced aural agony, sounding as those the stadium was being targeted by marauding, murderous wasps. (Proof, for the uninitiated). We have Giovanni van Bronckhorst scoring a phenomenal goal. Above all, I remember Andres Iniesta securing a historic first title for Spain in injury time, and reflect upon a historic move for FIFA in diversifying the game.
23	Gauhar Jaan		507,820	Another entry here courtesy of Google, as Jaan was the subject of a Google Doodle during the week. Jaan was a singer and dancer in India during the early 20th century, and popularised new genres of music including thumri and dadra. The doodle led many to investigate the star, a legend of Indian entertainment, yet relatively unknown in the west. Props to Google for spreading knowledge of Indian culture through its doodles this week.
24	Incredibles 2		506,968	Living in Ireland has a wide array of advantages compared to living in America - however, we often suffer when it comes to imported entertainment, including Hollywood productions. Such is the case here, where the latest Pixar feature, which has been captivating audiences stateside for weeks, will not be released to European audiences for another three weeks. Something about Disney wishing to avoid competition from the footy, as audience eyes are turned towards the pitch, away from the silver screen. Alas, I am condemned to wait a few days more to find out what happens to the superhero family in their battle with the Underminer, and other incredible adventures.
25	Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez		464,929	Finally, rather than football, we close with politics. Ocasio-Cortez hit the headlines, and led Wikipedians to investigate her, following the Democratic primary in the 14th congressional district of New York. She defeated the incumbent congressional candidate, Joseph Crowley, in a shocking result, and will now contest the upcoming mid-term elections on behalf of the blue side. Her victory has been termed "one of the biggest upsets in congressional history", due to her affiliation with the Democratic Socialists of America, and spells further interest and intrigue lying ahead for our metropolitan editors in the concrete jungle.

In other news

Rose Leslie, with her wedding on June 23 to the prince that was promised, just missed the Top25.

Exclusions[edit]

This list excludes the Wikipedia main page, non-article pages (such as redlinks), and anomalous entries (such as DDoS attacks or likely automated views). Since mobile view data became available to the Report in October 2014, we exclude articles that have almost no mobile views (5–6% or less) or almost all mobile views (94–95% or more) because they are very likely to be automated views based on our experience and research of the issue. Please feel free to discuss any removal on the talk page if you wish.

Note: If you came here from the Signpost article, please take any discussion of exclusions to this article's talk page.