Top 4 of '24

A look back on last year's most popular installments of The Inside Edge, plus more peeling back of this column's curtain since its March 2023 launch.

We’re already about 1% into 2025 but in terms of reviewing last year’s body of work for The Inside Edge, it’s not too late for one last look at my most-read columns of the past year.

For each one, I’ve included an excerpt and updated observations. To read (or re-read) any of the columns, click on “Read full story” within the thumbnail that offers the first few lines of the piece.

And if you want to take a peek behind the Substack curtain, below this brief list is a statistical look at The Inside Edge’s humble journey since its inception nearly two years ago.

#1

Excerpt:

“Thirty days ago, Phil’s life was saved on the CTA’s Pink Line somewhere.

Details are hazy, because I’ve not pressed him much. I’ve been piecing things together through a visit to the hospital 2 ½ weeks ago and two visits to his apartment after he was finally released from medical care.

Mostly, I’m just grateful he’s alive, grateful for whoever helped him in his time of life-or-death need. And I’m relieved the call I made to the Cook County coroner’s office three weeks ago—when I was still in the dark on his whereabouts—didn’t go the way I dreaded.”

Updated Observation:

Thankfully, Phil’s remained sober and drug-free, approaching the four-month mark now. I see him once or twice a week, with grocery shopping and watching movies our top two activities. I wrote about this in All Is (Not) Lost.

#2

Excerpt:

“What I know for certain is that despite its struggles and potential demise, Sports Illustrated will always hold a special place in my heart because of its pivotal role not once, but twice in my life, two decades apart.”

Updated Observation:

Until scanning through the column today, I forgot how detailed I got in tracing SI’s role in my overall journalism journey the past 40-plus years. The demise of Sports Illustrated as I knew it as a youngster has been long and gradual so this latest phase doesn’t really cross my mind much.

#3

Excerpt:

“Over the course of his 85 ½ years, Tim McCarthy meant different things to different people, but in my experience, he was the epitome of a grateful human being. He didn’t dwell on the relationships that were fractured or fraught; instead, he focused on the blessings in his life and on the interactions that he did get to experience.”

Updated Observation:

This was a tough column to write, on multiple levels. One of those levels: sharing about my own relationship with my father-in-law, while respecting and honoring the reality that others had significantly different relationships with him. As with other tough columns, doing my imperfect but earnest best is its own reward.

#4

Excerpt:

Matt: Do people ever ask to pray for you?

Phil: Oh, yeah. They say, `What’s your name? We’re going to say a prayer for you.’ And I say, `What is your name?’

I do—I pray for them later. I don’t tell them I’m going to pray, because everyone says it, but these drivers—yeah, they ask you for your name and they give you a card with a picture of Mary or Jesus on it. They really care.

Updated Observation:

As with everything I’ve written about Phil, I posted this one with his permission. That permission reflects Phil’s generosity of spirit and also, I believe, his natural human desire to be seen and understood. I’m grateful Phil hasn’t panhandled since September, when he nearly died of an overdose—the aftermath of which was the subject of my most-read column of 2024.

And that brings us full circle with this “Top 4 of ’24” list.

Rounding Out the Top 10

Why did I list only four of my columns in depth? Well, you and I have only so much time, right? Anyhow, for those hankering for a top 10 round-up, here’s the next six:

#5: July 13: 25 happy returns later, about the circumstances leading to my wife and I literally walking on as extras one summer night in 1999 for the movie “Return to Me.”

From our smooching scene, as Minnie Driver looked on from a balcony.

#6: May 4: One extraordinary week, about an especially momentous week that included my starting at a full-time job for the first time in 25 years.

#7: September 16: Media darling, about the trail of media coverage throughout the life of would-be Trump assassin Ryan Routh. This was a “bonus” edition of The Inside Edge and included background on Routh that most major media outlets didn’t report initially (or at all).

One of many features on Ryan Routh that I dug up from Newspapers.com.

#8: November 9: Reckoning with reality, about the election of Donald Trump, much to my “befuddlement and disappointment.”

#9: November 16: Guilty pleasure, about the much-hyped boxing match between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson.

#10: March 23: Two-Dollar tribute, about the late actor R. Emmet Walsh’s influence on my practice of giving $2 bills to people.

A Clarifying Note

The top 10 list is based on the number of views for each column. They tended to rise to the top based on a large proportion of non-subscribers who came across the column, whether via social media or when subscribers shared it with their networks.

Generally, between 56% and 60% of subscribers read (or at least open up) the column when it hits their in-box. Based on that metric (percentage of subscribers who opened up a piece), my most popular one (68% open rate) of 2024 was actually my first one.

I sent it on January 6 with the headline “Revisiting Arnold’s Words,” and it was about Arnold Schwarzenegger’s condemnation of Trump and those who have enabled his lies and treachery over the years.

Other Stats & Stuff

Wrapping up with more “inside sports” about this column, for those who are still interested and have read this far:

I began The Inside Edge on March 25, 2023. On that day, I signed up a few family members and mentioned it to a few friends. By day’s end, there were six subscribers, including myself.

Since then, I’ve passively promoted it, posting my pieces on social media and raising awareness generally through a link at the bottom of my Inside Edge PR e-mail signature (one of four e-mails that I regularly use).

My main reason for writing is to provide an outlet for my own passions and interests and if others want to come along for the ride, that’s terrific. But in a world where we are all besieged by requests to join this or that e-mail list, I don’t want anyone feeling obliged to subscribe.

Here’s a look at how my subscriber numbers have grown since that first day over 21 months ago:

Time from 0 to 100 subscribers: 57 days (May 21, 2023)

Time from to 100 to 200 subscribers: 68 days (July 28, 2023)

Time from 200 to 300 subscribers: 519 days (December 28, 2024)

Subscribers at the start of 2024: 237 (18 paid).

Subscribers at the start of 2025: 303 (17 paid).

In contrast to my first nine months, when I added nearly one new subscriber a day, growth this past year was, well, subtle. Over the first six months, it inched up from 237 to 266. Then it pretty much plateaued, climbing by another 10, to 276, as of December 1st.

Since then, there’s been a surge. At least twice in the last few weeks, there have been legitimate new subscribers but into the mix are something along the lines of bots. These sketchy ones bear e-mail addresses with unusual, suspicious-looking suffixes. I don’t know what’s going on, if this is part of a broader platform-wide issue, but mostly these ones have disappeared from my subscriber rolls.

Above, you might have noticed that while my overall subscriber base has risen by 28% over the last 12 months, the number of paid subscribers has dropped by one to 17. That has meant a decline in my paid subscriber rate from 7.6% to 5.6%.¹

I appreciate all my readers; if you’re one of those 17, I’m especially grateful for your support. Happy New Year to everyone!

1. Even my lower rate of 5.6% is about average, maybe a bit above the norm. From a Google inquiry, here’s what I see: “Substack suggests that 5–10% of free subscribers typically convert to paid, but many creators share lower conversion rates, particularly with smaller lists.”