Nick Chubb injury shock, Ohio State Marching Band love… oh, and Travis Kelce: The 23 top-performing posts on cleveland.com Facebook page in 2023

CLEVELAND, Ohio – If you spend more than, say, an hour in Northeast Ohio, it will become abundantly clear that Clevelanders love their local sports teams. So, it should come as no surprise that sports, and sports-adjacent, content is popular on cleveland.com’s social media pages.

There were many, many memorable moments worth social media posts in 2023, but one heartbreaking moment in Cleveland sports took the top spot this year.

This year, cleveland.com’s social media team used reporting tools made available through Social News Desk, a social media management software, to pull data on every single social media post sent to our Facebook, X (Twitter) and Instagram pages between Jan. 1 and Dec. 5.

From there, we sorted the data for total engagement, which includes Facebook reactions, comments, shares and other post-specific items, such as video views and link clicks.

Here are the 23 posts with the most engagement on the cleveland.com Facebook page in 2023.

1. Nick Chubb’s stunning season-ending injury

Nick Chubb, the Cleveland Browns’ beloved running back, suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 2 of the NFL season against the team’s rival Pittsburgh Steelers. The best word to describe fans’ initial reaction? Shock. The Internet’s reaction to Chubb’s injury was both swift and supportive. After all, even if you aren’t a Browns fan, no one wants to see such a gruesome injury happen to a good person and player.

On Facebook, we shared a link post to an article that gathered reactions from across the sports world, and our fans responded. The post garnered 343,669 total engagements, including nearly 15,000 Facebook reactions and greater than 1,400 shares and 957 clicks.

2. TBDBITL takes the field for the first time in 2023

Whether you’re a Buckeyes supporter, it’s hard to deny the greatness of The Ohio State University Marching Band. Their talent and creativity are admired across the country, if not the world.

When the band took to the field at Ohio Stadium for the first time at the Buckeyes’ 2023 home opener, fans on our Facebook page went wild. A video of that moment, taken by senior social media producer Hayden Grove, has 137,348 total engagements. This includes more than 20,000 Facebook “likes,” nearly 2,000 comments and greater than 3,000 shares. It’s also worth mentioning that this video had more than 1 million views!

3. Cleveland Heights native Travis Kelce speaks after winning “The Kelce Bowl” Super Bowl

Travis Kelce’s fame skyrocketed later in 2023 after it was revealed he is dating Taylor Swift, arguably the world’s biggest pop star. But he and his family were still in the news early in the year, as he and his brother Jason faced off when the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles played in Super Bowl LVII.

After Travis’ Chiefs won, he spoke to the media about the thrill of “The Kelce Bowl.” Our social media team shared some of what he had to say on our Facebook page, and needless to say, it was popular. The graphic garnered 131,589 total engagements. This includes close to 37,000 post clicks, more than 92,000 Facebook reactions and more than 1,500 shares.

4. Famous Clevelander gets deserved Black History Month recognition

For the past several years, cleveland.com’s social media team has spotlighted famous Northeast Ohioans throughout the month of February for Black History Month. While we have shared information about Garrett Morgan, the inventor of the stoplight and the gas mask, in the past, this year’s post took off.

The graphic we shared about Morgan on Feb. 27 has 129,778 total engagements, which includes more than 34,000 post clicks and greater than 63,000 Facebook reactions. Perhaps most surprisingly, the post garnered more than 30,000 shares.

5. Willie Nelson takes the stage at Blossom Music Center

The Red Headed Stranger is still touring, despite his advanced age – 90, to be exact. He made a stop in Northeast Ohio this past summer, hitting the stage at Blossom Music Center on Aug. 11.

Our social team shared a link to the concert review the next morning, and Willie Nelson fans shared their enthusiasm. The post has 111,827 total engagements. This includes more than 60,000 Facebook reactions, nearly 2,000 shares and about 1,500 comments.

6. Details of Michigan football cheating scandal strike a chord with Buckeyes fans

College football fans across the land – meaning the U.S., not just Cleveland – undoubtedly spent plenty of time following the Michigan football sign-stealing scandal when the news broke this fall. And for Ohio State fans, the Wolverines’ scandal added more fuel to the fire of burning distaste for TTUN.

When ESPN reported the cheating may have begun as early as 2021, cleveland.com’s Ohio State reporters also wrote an article. A share on our Facebook page on Oct. 20 garnered plenty of discussion.

The post has 111,540 total engagements. This includes more than 101,000 post clicks, about 6,300 Facebook reactions and nearly 2,300 comments.

7. A particularly funny first pitch at a Cleveland Guardians game

It may be a schtick, but you can’t deny that he’s committed.

Comedian Bert “The Machine” Kreisher was invited to throw out the first pitch at a Guardians game this year, and he did so in his signature shirtless fashion. Did we mention it was April?

A video of Kreisher’s pitch proved popular on Facebook. It gained 99,783 total engagements, which includes more than 35,000 reactions and more than 1,300 comments. And while not included in the total engagement metric, it’s worth noting that it had more than 775,000 views!

8. An amusement park scenario straight out of a bad dream

If you’re afraid of heights, it’s doubtful that you’re riding a rollercoaster, especially one at Cedar Point. But even if you’re not scared, being stuck on a ride for hours could turn you off to amusement parks for… a while.

In August, thrill seekers on Cedar Point’s Magnum coaster were forced to exit the ride and walk down hundreds of steps after the ride’s cars were stuck near the top of one of its hills. Talk about frightening.

A link to the story shared on Facebook was a talker, to say the least. The post has 98,835 total engagements. Most notably, it has more than 91,000 post clicks and greater than 4,700 reactions.

9. An abrupt restaurant exit by a popular chef

The Blue Door Café and Bakery in Cuyahoga Falls attracted a lot of attention in 2023 – some positive and some negative.

The restaurant announced in the spring that it was bringing on Executive Chef Alejandro Najar, who had previously competed on Gordon Ramsay’s “Hell’s Kitchen” and placed third. However, Najar chose to leave the restaurant in mid-June, leaving the eatery in a lurch and forcing them to cancel a planned Father’s Day dinner service.

News of Najar’s exit was shared on cleveland.com’s Facebook page, where it gained much attention. The link post has 96,546 total engagements. This includes 95,034 post clicks and nearly 850 reactions.

10. No more live critters at The Winking Lizard

Who would have thought news about lizards would place so high on this list?

Alas, news that local chain The Winking Lizard would phase out its homes for live lizards struck a chord with readers. When the news broke in mid-August that the restaurants were getting rid of its lizards, the link shared on cleveland.com’s Facebook garnered 94,433 total engagements. More than 3,000 followers reacted to the post, and more than 900 comments were left.

11. How a simmering baseball brawl came to a head

Another sports-adjacent story makes the list, but this time, it involves baseball. Who could forget the fist fight that broke out between the Guardians’ Jose Ramirez and White Sox’s Tim Anderson this past August?

Guardians fans seemingly couldn’t get enough coverage of the brawl, at least on social media. cleveland.com’s Guardians reporters grabbed the story from multiple angles, yet the one that detailed how the fight came to be performed the best on our Facebook page.

Upon sharing this link on our page the following morning, the post gained 79,909 post engagements. More than 77,000 of those were post clicks, but more than 2,000 fans reacted to the news as well.

12. A controversial music video gets pulled

Country star Jason Aldean is polarizing, whether you are a fan of his music or not. And this past summer, a music video for his hit “Try That In A Small Town” made national news, due to its setting and inflammatory lyrics.

Cleveland.com’s social team shared a story about the video being pulled from CMT not long before Aldean was slated to make a tour stop at Blossom Music Center. That show was eventually canceled due to severe weather, but he returned later in the summer.

News of the music video’s removal from CMT resonated with our readers. The link post gained 73,464 total engagements. That includes more than 3,600 reactions and nearly 3,000 comments.

13. Tragic news of a former Browns player’s life cut short

In April, cleveland.com Browns reporter Mary Kay Cabot reported that Chris Smith, a former Browns defensive end, had died. He was 31.

Smith’s life had been marked by personal tragedy during his time in Cleveland; he lost his girlfriend, who had given birth to their child just one month earlier, in a 2019 car crash in downtown Cleveland.

When the news of Smith’s death was shared on our Facebook page, our fans responded. The link has 72,125 total engagements, of which there were 69,155 post clicks and close to 2,400 reactions.

14. Where’s the beef? In Ohio, apparently

If you love a good hamburger, you don’t have to go far to find one.

In June, we shared news that two Ohio restaurants made the list of the Top 100 Burger Spots in the U.S., according to Yelp. One of those restaurants, BareBurger, is located in Columbus. The second, Northstar Café, is also a popular Columbus eatery, but it does have a Northeast Ohio location in Shaker Heights.

This news was popular with our Facebook followers. The link has 71,781 total engagements; that includes 70,969 post clicks and more than 500 reactions.

15. Bronny James suffered cardiac arrest

Very scary news hit LeBron James’ family this summer, as LeBron James Jr. – better known as Bronny James – suffered cardiac arrest while playing basketball with his team at the University of Southern California.

The incident happened in late July. Bronny was hospitalized, yet he slowly but surely gained back his health. The 19-year-old made his debut for USC’s basketball team on Nov. 26.

When the news of Bronny’s health scare broke, our Facebook fans reacted in large numbers. The post garnered 68,611 total engagements. That includes nearly 4,000 reactions, more than 1,200 comments and close to 1,100 shares.

16. Restaurant health violations give Northeast Ohioans something to talk about

Is your favorite dive a “greasy spoon” or just downright dirty? This is oversimplifying the matter, but the sentiment remains: Northeast Ohioans love to talk each year when cleveland.com releases its findings from the county’s restaurant health code violations.

This graphic of the 10 establishments in Cuyahoga County with the most violations was no different. The post garnered 67,861 total engagements. This included 64,349 post clicks, plus more than 2,200 shares and close to 700 comments.

17. Browns players dedicate their season to Nick Chubb after gruesome injury

“Play for Nick.” It’s that simple.

As detailed above in No. 1, Browns RB Nick Chubb’s season-ending injury was a huge blow to not just fans but teammates alike. Following the narrow loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, Browns cornerback Greg Newsome II said he planned to dedicate his season to his teammate.

The sentiment resonated with our Facebook fans. The news garnered 66,507 total engagements. Of those, more than 9,800 were Facebook reactions, and the post had more than 650 comments.

18. Lower prices for Cedar Point lovers

The cost of, well, everything is rising nationwide and globally. But one thing that decreased in price this year? The cost of admission to Cedar Point.

The beloved amusement park announced in mid-April it was dropping the price of gate admission to $80. The last time that price was lowered was 17 years prior, in 2006.

Fans loved this news when it was shared on our Facebook page. The post gained 66,072 total engagements. Of those, about 2,400 were reactions, and it has more than 1,600 comments.

19. Ohio towns make list of Top Places to Live in the U.S.

Clevelanders have a lot of hometown pride, but that didn’t mean much to the makers of this list.

In July, cleveland.com published news that two Ohio cities – Parma and Cincinnati – made Livability.com’s list of Top 100 Best Places to Live in the U.S. However, Parma does border Cleveland, and we’ll take any Northeast Ohio pride we can get.

The post proved popular on Facebook. The post has 65,107 total engagements; notably, there are 63,158 post clicks and about 1,200 reactions.

20. Rihanna’s Super Bowl halftime performance was a hit

Fans of pop star Rihanna were buzzing over her Super Bowl halftime performance leading up to, during and after the show. Rihanna has not released an album since 2016, and folks were speculating whether this performance would serve as a catalyst for an announcement of new music.

Nope. Instead, the world learned after the show that Rihanna was pregnant with her second child.

Anyhow, our social team has noticed that year after year, our fans like to discuss Super Bowl halftime shows, so we asked for their opinion. The post performed well on our page, with 62,833 total engagements. This poll gained more than 11,000 reactions and more than 2,500 comments.

21. House of the Week post is a talker

Each week, our social team shared photos from cleveland.com’s “House of the Week,” our weekly real estate spotlight on big, historic, beautiful or otherwise unique homes around Northeast Ohio.

While the team has shared a number of more extravagant homes throughout 2023, this home in Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood struck a chord with our Facebook followers.

A gallery of the duplex on Clinton Avenue has 62,218 total engagements. The photos have 60,554 post clicks and nearly 1,000 reactions. There are also more than 600 comments.

22. Shania’s summer show at Blossom hits the right note

There was no denying the excitement around country legend Shania Twain’s show at Blossom Music Center this past June.

Our social team shared a selection of photos, plus a link to the review of the show, on our Facebook page the following morning, and fans were sure to give it some love.

In all, the gallery and accompanying link have 60,559 total engagements. About 57,565 of those are post clicks, as well as more than 2,400 reactions.

23. Who doesn’t love donuts?

We couldn’t wrap up a year-end social post without showing love to our Cleveland’s Best team.

They relentlessly comb through ideas of the best foods around Northeast Ohio, invite readers to vote and then taste-test for themselves.

This past fall, the team was out to find the Best Donuts in Greater Cleveland. Once those winners were announced, the social team felt it was our duty to share on Facebook.

That post garnered 60,308 total engagements. It has more than 1,150 reactions and close to 500 comments.