(WWJ) - We learned a lot of things in 2022 -- the Giant Slide at Belle Isle could possibly break your back, the Detroit Lions have begun to flesh out into a potentially dangerous NFL team (or not?) and Bigfoot may not actually be as far-fetched as we initially believed.
All these stories and more seemed to capture your attention the most in 2022. Whether it was outrageous or strange or just a story about how "Michigan drivers suck," our listeners couldn't get enough of it.
Let's put 2022 in the rearview mirror and reflect on the stories that caught your ear the most.
Did the Lions really "Restore the Roar" after all these.... decades? For the vast majority of its existence, the Detroit Lions has been a terrible football team. But the team really gained momentum in the last two months, making the Lions the talk of the NFL.
The Lions were finally on a roll — they now sit just outside of the playoff picture.
Are you drinking the Honolulu blue Kool-Aid yet? On this wildly popular Daily J, we all are left to wonder if — finally — the Lions are for real.
2) Outrage after woman's inappropriate dancing at Macomb County high school gym
It was the 'twerk heard 'round Metro Detroit' back in October when Mount Clemens Community School District officials caught wind of a local rapper twerking and dancing inappropriately with a woman on a school basketball court. The performance, which was part of a charity event at the school’s gym, was filmed and posted online where it drew the ire of many.
Ope.
In the fallout, officials ended up banning the person responsible for the event, former Mount Clemens student and NFL player Quentin Hines, from ever renting its facilities in the future.
3) Is the Giant Slide at Belle Isle a nostalgic treasure or harbinger of doom? Why can’t it be both?
It's both, OK? That's what makes the Giant Slide so great and firmly enshrined as our #3 top audio clip of 2022. The interest began back in August after a video of the reopening of Belle Isle’s giant slide went viral after overly-slippery conditions sent riders flying through the air at high speeds.
Hilarity, along with painful-looking trips down the slide, ensued. At the time, the “epic fail”-style videos were featured by a variety of news outlets, along with the song “Giant Slide,” released by Detroit rapper Gmac Cash as a tribute to the viral phenomenon.
It became so popular, the Belle Isle giant slide was even named the 2022 Clip of the Year on “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” and Gmac Cash himself stopped by to accept the award.
While officials at Belle Isle have since altered the surface of the slide to slow people down, the clip serves as a reminder of when riders felt like they were in a Fast and Furious movie.
4) Strange animal sighted in Macomb County
Whatever it was, people fiercely debated exactly what was captured creeping around on a residential security camera back in August.
Some say it was a panther, others said it was a house cat (maybe a really big house cat?) and some of the really far-out there suggestions pegged the animal for a Chupacabra -- you know, the blood-sucking creature of folklore?
To this day, no one can say for sure what caught on footage that night and that seemed to get your attention as the audio clip claimed the #4 spot in our countdown.
So, what do you think? SEE THE VIDEO HERE.
5) Big cat sighting in Northern Michigan prompts DNR investigation
The Department of Natural Resources debunked this viral photo as just a housecat, but social media users weren't too convinced in our fifth top audio clip of the year.
Photographer Dakota Stebbins said he was snapping shots during the Drew Kostic Memorial 5K Tough Run at Twisted Trails Off Road Park back in -- you guessed it -- August when the big cat loped into view.
A large black cat with a long tail -- similar to a panther -- can be seen in the series of images captured by Stebbins.
Large carnivore specialist, Cody Norton, with the DNR told WWJ's Beth Fisher they've checked out the photos -- and more than likely, it's a large domestic housecat.
Womp womp womp.
It's the story of how a busy intersection in downtown Detroit under went some Cinderella magic to transform into one of the city's most iconic landmarks.
While it seems magical, there was a lot that went behind making Campus Martius into what we know it today -- and no, it wont revert back to what it was at midnight thanks to all the leaders, businesses and partnerships that made the dream come true.
Revisit the journey into the plan that revitalized and rebuilt a traffic island into the "heartbeat" of the city.
It is with a heavy heart we touch on the tragic loss of WWJ's own Jim Matthews after he was killed in an attack at his home in Macomb County's Chesterfield Township three months ago.
Jim worked as the overnight news anchor for nearly seven years. He was beloved by those who not only worked with him at the station, but all who turned in when he was on air.
"Nobody could talk bad about Jim," Joe Nicolai, Matthews' brother said during a vigil held shortly after Matthews' death. "He loved life. He was very meek. He was very mild-mannered. He was very professional at his job. He loved his kids."
It is no surprise our listeners and followers also mourned and shed tears with us as news of his tragic death broke here on WWJ. While the initial announcement was downloaded enough times to earn the #7 spot on the list, we've replaced it with Nicolai honoring his brother and reflecting on how our dear friend and coworker touched the lives of many.
8) BREAKING: Missing Livonia woman found dead in Washtenaw County
It was a missing persons case that captured the attention of Metro Detroit when Livonia Police announced they were searching for Kasey Debat, a 36-year-old wife and mother of two, after she disappeared on Sept. 5.
According to police, Debat left home that evening after an argument with her husband and never returned. She was found dead two days later in Northfield Township in Washtenaw County.
Sadly, police said they believed Kasey died by suicide.
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Ouch. The stringing phrase was uttered by none other than Michigan State Police Lt. Mike Shaw during an interview about a speed enforcement operation back in July -- and listeners retracted strongly to it.
Shaw maintained that there is no excuse for speeding, which in 2021, mainly attributed to over 1,300 deaths on Michigan roadways, or about four every day.
The lieutenant said people who were pulled over during the enforcement along a 16-mile stretch of M-39 provided a wide variety of excuses, including:
• Didn’t know the speed limit
• No one drives 55 so just change the limit
• Shouldn’t have urban freeways
• It’s the end of the month
• Can’t you fix the potholes?
According to police, the excuses fell flat and none of them got drivers out of tickets. In this popular episode of the Daily J, WWJ's Zach Clark took a look what can be done to slow down drivers in Metro Detroit.
10) Is Bigfoot real? One expert says, "Oh! Absolutely!"
This clip maybe the last on our list, but a good folklore story isn't last when it comes to people's curiosity.
After rumors of a Bigfoot sighting in Shelby Township back in June were debunked (boo), Daily J host Zach Clark began to ponder: Is there any chance that Bigfoot is real?
Well, apparently enough of you also asked that question, or at least were curious about it, as thousands of people tuned in to hear if Clark was able to track down the answer.
In this episode of The Daily J podcast, Clark talks to one scientist who is all-in on Sasquatch.