Kelce brothers, Caitlin Clark, Joe Flacco, more: 15 most popular sports posts on cleveland.com Facebook page in 2024

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Cleveland is a sports town. There is no more personal evidence of that than cleveland.com’s enterprise Facebook page, which features all of our content — including news, politics, entertainment, sports and everything in between.

More than 80 of our Top 100 Facebook posts of 2024 in terms of total engagement were related to sports.

cleveland.com’s social media team used reporting tools made available through Social News Desk, a social media management program, to pull data on every single social media post on our enterprise Facebook page between Jan. 1 and Dec. 1. From there, we identified sports-related posts and sorted the data for total engagement, which includes likes, comments and shares, to curate the 15 most popular sports posts of 2024.

Here are the Top 15 sports-related posts from cleveland.com’s Facebook page in 2024:

15. Browns have four winners at NFL Awards

After a 2023 NFL season in which the Browns finished 11-6, Cleveland had four finalists for the NFL Awards held in 2024. Sure enough, each finalist ended up winning: Kevin Stefanski for Coach of the Year, Joe Flacco for Comeback Player of the Year, Myles Garrett for Defensive Player of the Year and Jim Schwartz for Assistant Coach of the Year.

14. Guardians take ALDS over Tigers thanks to Lane Thomas grand slam

Facing 2024 AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal in Game 5 of the ALDS, the Guardians trailed 1-0 heading into the bottom of the fifth inning. After loading the bases and tying the game at 1-1 when José Ramírez was hit by a pitch, Lane Thomas took to the plate and cemented his place in Cleveland baseball lore, smacking a grand slam into the bleachers in left. The Guardians did not relinquish the lead and took the ALDS series over the Detroit Tigers with a 7-3 win.

13. CC Sabathia elected to Cleveland Guardians Hall of Fame

CC Sabathia spent eight years with Cleveland — most as the team’s ace, including his Cy Young season in 2007. The Guardians inducted him into the team’s Hall of Fame on Aug. 4 before a game against the Baltimore Orioles.

12. Thank you, Joe

After an incredible season with the Browns, in which he went 4-1 in the five regular-season games he played, backup quarterback Joe Flacco cemented himself as a fan favorite in Cleveland. Even after a blowout loss to the Texans in the playoffs, Clevelanders showed their appreciation to Flacco.

11. Browns do right by Joe Flacco

When signing Joe Flacco for the rest of the 2023-24 season, the Browns offered the veteran quarterback some incentives as part of his contract. One of those incentives included a $75,000 bonus for every game the Browns won in which he played over 50% of the snaps. Well, as he sat for the final game of the regular season as a precaution with the playoffs looming, the Browns made sure Flacco received his bonus by converting it into an incentive for being on the 53-man roster.

10. Cavaliers honor Jason Kelce with video tribute

On March 5, the Cleveland Cavaliers welcomed Cleveland Heights natives Jason and Travis Kelce to Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse as the Cavs hosted the Boston Celtics, while also giving fans a special bobblehead featuring the brothers. Furthermore, the team showed a tribute video for Jason, who had recently announced his retirement from the NFL.

9. Jason and Travis Kelce slug some beers at Cavs game

As they enjoyed watching their hometown Cavaliers, Jason and Travis Kelce also enjoyed a few beverages, including one that they chugged on the big screen during a break in the game.

8. Jim Donovan dies at 68

After a lengthy battle with cancer, legendary Browns play-by-play radio voice Jim Donovan died in late October at 68. Tributes from all over Cleveland and around the country poured in for the beloved Donovan.

7. Caitlin Clark loves Cleveland

As the Iowa women’s basketball team made the 2024 Final Four in Cleveland, superstar Caitlin Clark made her first trip to the city and appeared to like all it had to offer.

6. Caitlin Clark makes her way off the court following Final Four win

Clark and the Hawkeyes earned their way to the national championship game against South Carolina after a hard-fought semifinals win over the UConn Huskies. As Clark left the floor, she hugged her mom in celebration.

5. Joe Flacco speaks of gratitude for the Browns

After the Browns’ season ended in the playoffs in Houston, Joe Flacco made sure to thank the team for what he felt was one of the most special seasons of his career.

4. Joe Flacco thanks city after winning award

After winning the 2023 NFL Comeback Player of the Year award, Flacco made sure to thank the Browns and the city of Cleveland for their support through the incredible season.

3. Cavaliers honor Kyrie Irving with tribute video

Ever since he requested a trade from the Cleveland Cavs, Kyrie Irving hasn’t always felt the love from the city. In fact, Irving often seemed to avoid Cleveland, skipping road games against the Cavaliers while he was with the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets. As he took the court for the Mavericks against the Cavs last season, however, the Cavaliers played a tribute video in the arena. Fans gave him a hearty applause and Irving offered his love right back to the fans.

2. Dawn Staley lauds Caitlin Clark after winning National Championship

Though South Carolina defeated Iowa in the NCAA women’s basketball championship game in Cleveland, Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley made sure Caitlin Clark got her flowers.

1. Travis and Jason Kelce celebrate during Cavaliers’ massive comeback win over Celtics

On the evening Travis and Jason Kelce were welcomed to Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on their bobblehead night, the Cavaliers played arguably their most exciting regular season game of the season. Down more than 20 points early in the fourth quarter, the Cavs stormed back to beat Boston, 105-104, simultaneously ending the Celtics’ 11-game win streak. As the comeback unfolded, Travis and Jason helped get the crowd going while rooting for the Cavs, just as they did as kids growing up in Cleveland Heights.

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