Sports Day
Summary: Ah, sports! I am sure that I share with most Wikipedians a fairly good opinion of the roundness of my own knowledge, at least in certain areas. It is a bold mind indeed that embarks on a longterm Wikipedia career without first winning a few rounds of Trivial Pursuit. However, the one topic about which I can safely declare myself utterly clueless is competitive physical activity, as evidenced by the fact that most of my free time is spent in front of a computer screen. So when two great sporting events, the Super Bowl and the Winter Olympics, collide in one week, transforming the top 25 into a festival of flying feet, a carnival of colliding craniums and a bacchanal of bouncing balls, I find myself at the foothill of a rather large amount of research. So if the commentary seems a bit less colourful than usual, that's why.
For the complete top 25 report, plus exclusions, see WP:TOP25
For the week of 2 to 8 February, the 10 most popular articles on Wikipedia, as determined from the report of the 5,000 most viewed pages* were:
Rank Article Class Views Image Notes 1 Philip Seymour Hoffman 
4,755,765 
The sudden, unexpected death of this intensely talented, Oscar-winning actor at the age of only 46 sent ripples throughout the pop-culturesphere. Although the coroner has yet to confirm the cause of death, evidence found at the scene suggests that he relapsed into heroin use after a long abstinence. 2 Bruno Mars 
1,190,624 
Despite having only been on the scene for three years, this singer has already sold over 100 million records, and he shot into public consciousness this week not only by winning Best Pop Vocal Album at the Grammys, but by presiding over a widely praised Super Bowl halftime show. 3 2014 Winter Olympics 
1,060,738 
The 2014 Winter Olympics opening ceremony fell on February 7. Thanks to Russia's vicious anti-gay laws and roundly condemned political imprisonments, this has become, whether it wanted to or not, a lightning rod for modern civil rights protest. 4 Satya Nadella
800,101 
The new CEO of Microsoft has a lot to deal with. Not only must he assume the mantle of a charismatic and universally known predecessor, but one whose shadow will likely fall on all who follow him, he must re-orient a company designed for the PC market in a world now dominated by tablets and mobile devices. It's somewhat surprising to see him so high on this list, but again, the India effect doubtless played a role. 5 Russell Wilson
723,018 
The defeat, or rout, if you prefer, by the Seattle Seahawks of the Denver Broncos that comprised this year's Super Bowl was distilled in the media to a battle between the two opposing quarterbacks—one a veteran approaching the end of his career, and this one, a newcomer led his team to their first Super Bowl win ever in just his second year in the league. 6 Sochi
721,216 
The sub-tropical resort that Vladimir Putin for some reason chose as the ideal location to host the Winter Olympics has become something of a talking point, given that it is one of the few places in the entire country that doesn't get snow in the winter, leading to the slightly ridiculous scenario of a country that regularly sees double-digit below zero temperatures having to spray artificial snow. 7 Super Bowl XLVIII
672,744 
With 111.5 million viewers, the largest amount in US television history, the great American event enters the top 10 for obvious reasons. 8 Peyton Manning
610,853 
A popular five-time MVP who played for the Indianapolis Colts for 14 seasons before leading the Denver Broncos to the Super Bowl, Manning was framed in the media as the protagonist in a mano a mano battle with opposing quarterback Russell Wilson (see above). 9 Woody Allen
606,319 
The film director responded to an open letter from his onetime adopted daughter this week, dismissing accusations that he had sexually abused her, and reigniting smouldering debates about his behaviour. 10 Facebook
587,794 
A perennially popular article
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Discuss this story
Your piece about Sochi seemed harsh. As far as I can tell ( NASA worldview), there was recent natural snowfall at Rosa Khutor Alpine Resort. Have you a source for your jibe that someone "spray(ed) palm-tree-lined streets with artificial snow"? Perhaps you are thinking of these snow machines 50 km from palm trees. -- Hroðulf (or Hrothulf) ( Talk) 14:40, 13 February 2014 (UTC) reply