Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2016-02-03/Traffic report

It's pretty clear what's on Wikipedians' (read: Americans') minds this week: The fiftieth Super Bowl, which kicks off on 7 February. Past Super Bowls have frequently overwhelmed the top 25 with related articles, which is all the more astounding because the event is of little or no importance to the rest of the world.

'''For the full top-25 list, see WP:TOP25. See this section for an explanation of any exclusions. For a list of the most edited articles of the week, see here.'''

As prepared by Serendipodous, for the week of 24 to 30 January, 2016, the 10 most popular articles on Wikipedia, as determined from the report of the most viewed pages, were:


 * {| class="wikitable"

! Rank ! Article ! Class ! Views ! Image ! Notes
 * 1
 * Royal Rumble (2016)
 * N/A
 * align="right"|1,557,865
 * Triple H At WrestleMania 31 in 2015.jpg
 * Wikipedians love their wrestling, but none more so than the annual WWE Royal Rumble, which usually finishes either at or near the top of the list in normal weeks (though it wouldn't have stood a chance in the previous few weeks). What is Royal Rumble, you might possibly ask? Well it's when 30 or so guys fight in the same ring until one is left. For the record, Triple H (pictured) was the last man standing, beating previous winner Roman Reigns.
 * 2
 * Zika virus
 * Symbol start class.svg
 * align="right"|1,354,360
 * Zika EM CDC 280116.tiff
 * This unassuming flavivirus had, since its discovery in in Uganda in 1947, been seen as a meek also ran when stood among its more formidable cousins, such as Dengue, Yellow fever and West Nile. Whereas those could often prove fatal, Zika symptoms mostly compared to a nasty case of flu. However, its sudden pandemic spread throughout the Americas has triggered a panic in the US, particularly after a potentially related spate of microcephalic childbirths in Brazil.
 * 3
 * Cam Newton
 * Symbol c class.svg
 * align="right"|1,319,633
 * Cam Newton 2014.jpg
 * Super Bowl 50 is due this week, and Wikipedians have once again reduced the game to a duel between quarterbacks. Cam Newton, the quarterback for the Carolina Panthers, has earned substantially more views than his rival Peyton Manning, below, perhaps due to controversy over his behaviour, which has been described as arrogant, leading to charges of incipient racism.
 * 4
 * Peyton Manning
 * Symbol support vote.svg
 * align="right"|947,294
 * Peyton Manning (cropped).jpg
 * After injury and concerns as to his increasing age, the popular quarterback for the Denver Broncos led his team to their second Super Bowl in three years.
 * 5
 * Airlift (film)
 * Symbol c class.svg
 * align="right"|887,316
 * Akshaykumar.jpg
 * An Indian war thriller film released on January 22. Akshay Kumar stars.
 * 6
 * The Revenant (2015 film)
 * Symbol c class.svg
 * align="right"|807,384
 * Leonardo_DiCaprio_2014.jpg
 * Alejandro González Iñárritu's Western survival epic starring Leonardo di Caprio (pictured) continues to be popular in the leadup to the Oscars, having earned nearly $300 million worldwide as of 4 February.
 * 7
 * Republic Day (India)
 * Symbol c class.svg
 * align="right"|801,807
 * Indian_Army-Madras_regiment.jpeg
 * The annual holiday in India celebrating the Constitution of India on January 26 got nearly double the views of last year.
 * 8
 * Super Bowl 50
 * Symbol start class.svg
 * align="right"|758,841
 * Broncos vs 49ers preseason game at Levi's Stadium.jpg
 * The fiftieth annual clash between the National Football Conference champions (Carolina Panthers this year) and American Football Conference champions (Denver Broncos this year) will be held on 7 February at the Levi's Stadium outside San Francisco (pictured) with the Panthers favourites to win.
 * 9
 * The X-Files (miniseries)
 * Symbol b class.svg
 * align="right"|745,805
 * The X-Files logo.svg
 * Despite "meh" reviews, the brief revival of the 1990s cult hit paranormal investigation series has proven relatively strong in the ratings, leading to speculation that it may make a more permanent return.
 * 10
 * Steven Avery
 * Symbol c class.svg
 * align="right"|713,641
 * Avery is an American prisoner who is the subject of the popular new Netflix documentary series Making a Murderer which was released on December 18. (Episode 1 is available free on YouTube.) Avery served 18 years in prison, from 1985–2003, after being framed by the local police for a sexual assault he plainly did not commit.  During his subsequent civil lawsuit for compensation, during a period of explosive depositions, he was charged with the murder of a local photographer, and later convicted.  The documentary is compelling to watch, and it causing a fair amount of controversy, and thus bringing continuing attention to this article.
 * }
 * align="right"|745,805
 * The X-Files logo.svg
 * Despite "meh" reviews, the brief revival of the 1990s cult hit paranormal investigation series has proven relatively strong in the ratings, leading to speculation that it may make a more permanent return.
 * 10
 * Steven Avery
 * Symbol c class.svg
 * align="right"|713,641
 * Avery is an American prisoner who is the subject of the popular new Netflix documentary series Making a Murderer which was released on December 18. (Episode 1 is available free on YouTube.) Avery served 18 years in prison, from 1985–2003, after being framed by the local police for a sexual assault he plainly did not commit.  During his subsequent civil lawsuit for compensation, during a period of explosive depositions, he was charged with the murder of a local photographer, and later convicted.  The documentary is compelling to watch, and it causing a fair amount of controversy, and thus bringing continuing attention to this article.
 * }
 * Avery is an American prisoner who is the subject of the popular new Netflix documentary series Making a Murderer which was released on December 18. (Episode 1 is available free on YouTube.) Avery served 18 years in prison, from 1985–2003, after being framed by the local police for a sexual assault he plainly did not commit.  During his subsequent civil lawsuit for compensation, during a period of explosive depositions, he was charged with the murder of a local photographer, and later convicted.  The documentary is compelling to watch, and it causing a fair amount of controversy, and thus bringing continuing attention to this article.
 * }

