A smashed Taylor Swift guitar, smashed QB mansion and smashed alarm clocks: Here’s the most viral stories from 2024 with DFW ties

DALLAS — So much happens in a calendar year – and so much of it goes “viral.”

You don’t even realize just how many crazy videos or wild stories happen until sitting down to compile a list, which we’ve done here. 

WFAA picked 10 of the “most viral” or “most talked about” stories this year, and whittling this down to only 10 was a challenge in and of itself. As a base for picking these stories, we looked at the analytics of which videos were viewed the most on our Instagram and YouTube pages, as well as which stories accompanying them were clicked on the most on WFAA.com. 

It’s not an exact science: some videos performed super well on social media but the stories didn’t drive interest online and vise versa.

But, we looked at the year and selected our top 10 most viral stories to come out of Dallas-Fort Worth. Here they are:

Back in May, Scottie Scheffler was arrested on assault and reckless driving charges during a reported misunderstanding over traffic flow outside of the PGA Championship in Louisville. A large portion of the encounter was caught on camera that morning by ESPN reporter Jeff Darlington, whose reporting went viral.

Scheffler was released in time to make his tee time for the second round and shot 66 to get into contention. He finished the week tied for eighth. 

Criminal charges were dismissed on May 29, and Scheffler said his attorney told him on May 24 that dropping the charges had become a formality because “we had a lot of evidence on our side.”

Scheffler also later won the gold medal at the Paris Olympics.

Then, to tie it all up, he joked about his arrest on College GameDay while making a pick for a game involving the Louisville Cardinals.

On the morning of Oct. 4, cellphones across Texas buzzed and lit up shortly before 5 a.m.

Texas DPS issued a “Blue Alert” out of Memphis, Texas, a small town in Hall County in the Texas Panhandle, for a man named Seth Altman. He became public enemy No. 1 very quickly to an angry giant: an entire state of sleepy Texans.

Altman was accused of shooting the Memphis Police Chief, Rex Plant. There was no trace of Altman for three weeks, but he was arrested in Fort Worth on Oct. 25 and charged with attempted capital murder of a police officer.

There goes the saying “all publicity is good publicity.” This story proves that true in spades.

An autographed Taylor Swift guitar was bought in North Texas at an auction for $4,000 … and then smashed – which was met by backlash from many, celebrated by others but nonetheless was seen by millions.

The smashed guitar was then put on eBay and sold for even more money – $6,550.

All of the proceeds from the initial auction purchase, and the eBay sale, went to the Future Farmers of America for “agriculture educational programs,” according to the eBay post.

DFW got to experience a once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon on April 8: a Total Solar Eclipse.

It had been 146 years since North Texas had seen one, and we won’t be in the path of totality for another until 2317.

North America won’t experience totality again until 2033, with Alaska getting sole dibs. Then th at’s it until 2044, when totality will be confined to Western Canada, Montana and North Dakota.

There won’t be another U.S. eclipse spanning coast-to-coast until 2045. That one will stretch from Northern California all the way to Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Here’s a look at WFAA’s coverage of the eclipse:

It was an unforgettable experience that generations of North Texans – and the thousands who traveled here to visit – will never forget.

TMZ got the scoop that the Cowboys quarterback was tearing down his Prosper home, right after he signed a record-breaking deal with Dallas. TMZ reported that the Dude Perfect guys, the North Texas-based trick shot creators, were involved in the bulldozing and that Prescott even posed with some of the machinery.

WFAA’s chopper got visuals as the demolition occurred and it has been our second most-viewed video on our Instagram page in 2024 with over 8 million views.

Social media food critic Keith Lee teased in January he was coming to Dallas to do some of his viral food reviews and asked for suggestions. 

He’s split up his restaurant stops into three categories:

1. Places with good food and good customer service, but needs more marketing
2. Popular local spots voted on by DFW locals 
3. Restaurants with diverse backgrounds

Lee visited 12 spots in his late-January stay, and we chronicled his reviews here. Some of you may ask, though, why does it matter? What’s so special about his reviews? 

Well, his following is so robust that places he really enjoys see massive increases in business. “The Keith Lee effect” is a real thing, and we saw it here in North Texas, too. 

And in November, Lee announced he was moving to Texas, so we might be seeing more of him in the future. He even partnered with the Dallas Wings for their 2025 season schedule release.

The Jake Paul-Mike Tyson fight was one of the most talked about events of the year, and it happened right here in our backyard at Jerry World. 

Streaming – I mean buffering – exclusively on Netflix, the fight drew 65 million viewers on the platform and more than double the record for the highest gate of a combat sports event in Texas history.

The streaming issues, though, stole the show, if you don’t count the “full moon” in Arlington that night (if you know, you know). The buffering issues were so egregious that a Florida man filed a class-action lawsuit over it all.

Many of those who complained about the quality of the stream online also turned to another thought to cut down the fight’s legitimacy: Was it rigged for Paul? Most Valuable Promotions, which Paul co-owns, called claims that the fight was rigged “incorrect and baseless.”

It all started in Frisco in early November. 

A resident captured footage of a mountain lion strolling in his backyard and sent the footage to the Department of Parks and Wildlife which confirmed it was a mountain lion. This story went wild on WFAA’s social media pages and even more sightings came in the days to follow.

A second sighting was reported from video captured nearly a week prior to the first report – but on the opposite side of Lake Lewisville.

“How did that cat get across the lake!” Brady Smith said in an interview with WFAA. “I’m like there’s no way it crossed the lake that fast!”

Urban wildlife biologist Rachel Richter told WFAA that it wasn’t not certain – but very likely – that the mountain lion in Frisco was the same one seen in the other video.

Two times wasn’t enough, though. 

A Plano resident’s Ring camera caught footage of a mountain lion for a third time in a week. 

Texas Parks and Wildlife asked the public to report any mountain lion sightings. It helps them to monitor and keep track of the animal. Since the third sighting in Plano, WFAA has not received or seen any reports of a mountain lion in the area. Richter told WFAA these sightings are rare as mountain lions typically live in South Texas.

First of all, when is Jerry Jones not doing or saying something that goes viral? 

But, in true Jerry fashion, his radio interviews made headlines once again this year. In mid-October after the Cowboys got blown out by the Detroit Lions, Jones got very defensive and fiery with the Shan & RJ show on 105.3 The Fan. It was one of the most hostile tones he had ever had on the show.

Jones’ blow-up was all over national sports talk shows and everyone was chiming in with their thoughts on the Internet. So much so, people wondered if he would come back the following week, especially since he “threatened” to take his exclusive interview elsewhere.

Jones did come back the next week and basically tried to laugh it off and did not apologize.

And that was hardly the only viral moments from his radio interviews in 2024. The year started off with an odd, robotic voice interrupting the call while Jones was overseas. Through our unofficial translation, the voice appeared to be in French, and was saying something along the lines of his call being dropped. The voice mentioned “Orange,” which is a French telecom and cell phone carrier.

Our guess is the carrier issued the automated message as it dropped Jones’ call for whatever reason. You can listen to that interview here.

And just this month, Jones even told a story about the time they were sent found photos the mascot’s “Rowdy Wagon” at a strip club.

Last week, Jones addressed the viral comments from Carolina Panthers wide receiver Xavier Legette about eating raccoon for Thanksgiving.

“I’ve eaten a lot of raccoon,” the Arkansas-bred billionaire revealed. “Yes. The answer’s yes. I’ve eaten it hunting. I’ve actually had it served by mom at the table … it’s not uncommon at all.”

Jones also liked another countrified dish, maybe even more than raccoon: Squirrel. 

“It’s wonderful,” Jones said, “and my mother could do a great job of it.”

Apparently, the most desired portion of the squirrel was the brain, which always got scooped up by Jones’ dad or sister.

“Delicious,” Jones said. “Seriously.”

The video for this story was jaw-dropping. 

Security footage at a Dallas gym showed car crash through the front of the building, hitting two people who were sitting directly in the path of the vehicle.

One of the victims was treated on scene and the other person was taken to a local hospital for medical treatment.

This video got more than 1.5 million views on our Instagram page.

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• Multi-car crash, fight and stabbing on I-635
• Allen High School pep rally video
• Cowboys cheerleader with alopecia cheers without wig for My Cause My Boots night
• Uniqlo at Galleria Dallas opens with crazy long lines
• Doorbell video shows massive teen brawl in Forney 

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