Five Questions with ‘SEC Shorts’ creators Josh Snead and Robert Clay
Auburn and Alabama fans are not supposed to get along as well as Josh Snead and Robert Clay do. But this pair has melded their friendship, humor, creativity and love for college football into an internet phenomenon which has made the pals world famous. Well, world famous in SEC country.
Clay and Snead were collaborating putting together videos of medical procedures in 2014, when on a lark they decided to submit a video to a contest sponsored by the Paul Finebaum Show. As it turned out, the product that came from the effort skewered into people as much as any surgical procedure.
The result was SEC Shorts, a series of short films that poke fun at Southeastern Conference teams to alleviate some of the tension felt between schools.
In the six years since that initial submission, the Birmingham buddies have delighted college football fans throughout the South – and ticked off more than a few of the more thin-skinned ones.
The Rebel Walk was able to chat with the creative pair to ask our weekly “Five Questions with….”
The Rebel Walk: When y’all came up with this concept, what was your expectations of the project and how do you explain the explosion onto Southern culture?
Josh Snead: I had no real expectations going in, I think we just both thought it would be cool to get one on tv. As far as the explosion onto southern culture, that’s due mostly to my rugged good looks and acting ability.
Robert Clay: I always thought we had a chance to make some funny videos for Auburn and Alabama since those were our schools, but it’s been crazy to see it blow up with schools throughout the SEC footprint. Southerners just like to laugh and can take a joke at their expense.
TRW: Which player, team or fan base is the most fun to parody and why?
Robert: Unfortunately for Tennessee, they’ve been pretty consistently terrible since we started making these videos, so they have born the full brunt of jokes at their expense. Their fans are great sports about it and have been able to laugh at the situation even though they are all dying on the inside.
Josh: The best is making fun of teams outside the conference. Their fans get so mad because they have no clue who we are. The messages we get are always entertaining.
TRW: We are sure y’all get both positive and negative feedback from fans, which is the most entertaining to receive – and do you have favorite examples of each?
Josh: It’s in my contract that Robert has to go through all the comments each week and delete any that are negative toward me. My fragile ego can’t handle the hate.
Robert: Every video we have ever made always has two types of comments. “This is the best video I have ever seen!” And “This is the worst video I have ever seen!”. Always provides a healthy dose of perspective.
TRW: The stock answer to this is you can’t pick one because it is like choosing your favorite child, but do you each have a favorite episode?
Robert: I always have fond memories of the video featuring a group of Ole Miss frat bros carrying the goal post back into Oxford after a year of being on the road. The wardrobe, the accents, the subtle yellowing of the goal post paint. And the Oscar goes to…
Josh: I like all the videos with just me in them. I feel like when we use other actors it really ruins it for our fans. But I do like the Nicholas Sparks movie trailer episode.
TRW: Robert, you are an Auburn fan and Josh, you are an Alabama fan. Are you able to watch the Iron Bowl together or do you have to separate for that three to four hours of time?
Josh: I don’t know if we’ve ever watched an Iron Bowl together, but Robert watched the 2017 National Championship with me and his sad reaction to us winning still gives me strength to this day.
Robert: We were both in Auburn last year for the Iron Bowl but only I went to the game. I felt like it was my responsibility to include Josh in the post-game celebration, so I live streamed after rushing the field. He never said it, but I know he was appreciative.
Latest episode of ‘SEC Shorts’ where the teams get a medical checkup:
You can find more of Clay and Snead’s work at www.secshorts.com. Click here for a link to their podcasts.
Steve Barnes
Steve Barnes joins The Rebel Walk staff as a senior writer and brings a trifecta of journalistic experience. As a writer, he has covered college sports for Rivals.com, Football.com and SaturdayDownSouth.com as well as served as a beat writer for various traditional newspapers.
He has been a broadcaster for arena football and several national tournament events for the National Junior College Athletic Association as well as hosting various shows on radio.
A former sports information director at Albany (Ga.) State University and an assistant at Troy and West Florida, he has helped host many NCAA conference, regional and national events, including serving five years on the media committee of the NCAA Division II World Series.
Barnes, a native of Pensacola, Fla., attended Ole Miss in 1983-84, where his first journalism teacher was David Kellum. The duo has come a long way since that time.
He will bring a proven journalistic track record, along with a knack for finding the out-of-the-ordinary story angles to The Rebel Walk.
Barnes continues to reside in Pensacola a mere ten minutes from the beach because he does have taste and a brain.
