Why I started NFL Updates Express
CHAPEL HILL, N.C.- "Welcome to NFL Updates Express, your weekly dose of NFL news. Coming your way, the 10th Anniversary article." If you have watched an episode of NFL Updates Express (N.U.E.), that classic intro will seem extremely familiar to you. But how did N.U.E. even become a thing? Well...I'm glad you asked.
It all started in the summer of 2012. My sister Christina had a YouTube channel at the time and was recording some of her music. I wanted to be a part of the channel in some way since video editing really interested me. Did she allow me to be on it? If you have a sibling, you'll probably know the answer to that question. Absolutely not. I said, "fine, I'll create my own channel." I'll admit that I can pretty competitive on the inside and want to prove people wrong. What would be the topic of my YouTube channel though? The NFL.
The first NFL game I remember watching was Super Bowl 44 when Peyton Manning and Drew Brees faced off. A game where Brees would help NOLA experience their first championship. Ever since then, I have been a fan of the NFL and wanted to learn all about its past and present history. The first NFL game I predicted was the epic wildcard game in 2010 between the Seahawks and Saints. Everyone remembers the "Beast Quake" game where Marshawn Lynch led Seattle at 7-9 to an upset over the defending champs.
I grew up watching announcers and sports personalities on TV like Gus Johnson, Mike Turico, Stuart Scott, Stephen A. Smith, and more. My dream job at the time was to be a sports journalist or broadcaster but I didn't know how I'd start. This is the origin of where NFL Updates Express came to be. On July 21st, 2012, the first episode was released on YouTube in my cringe-filled puberty voice. My best friend and co-host Dylan Moore would join me. "NFL Updates Express: Preseason Week 1 2012" kicked off a span of 275 videos over the course of a decade.
In July 2012, "Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen was the number one song on Billboard. My Cubs hadn't won the World Series in 104 years. TikTok didn't exist yet and Snapchat was barely off the ground. The word "coronavirus" was a foreign term...A lot obviously changes in a decade. 10 years later, there has been a lot of evolution in our world but N.U.E. has stood the test of time. In "fad" culture, I'm very pleased by the longevity and creativity that has emerged from the show. It never got "big" by any means but the overall consistency that we put into the show is something that I'll be proud of as I look back from these ten years of predictions and crazy segments with my friends.
Straight Up Facts
First ever game predicted on NFL Updates Express
Arizona Cardinals vs New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame game in 2012; Saints won 17-10; both hosts predicted Cardinals to win
Top 5 Biggest Hits (in order of most views)
NFL Stereotypes
N.U.E Hall of Fame Game 2017
N.U.E Preseason Week 1 2016
NFL Stereotypes 2
N.U.E Preseason Week 1 2012 (first episode)
Videos created
275
Subscribers
118
Total games predicted
1,913
Total Channel Views
about 30,000
Total Prediction Records
Christian: 1,163-743-7 (61.2%)
Dylan: 921-697-5 (57.1%)
Total Mascots
Green Squid
'Murica Man
Playoff Record [incl. Super Bowl]
Christian (61-50; 55%)
Dylan (55-36; 60%)
Super Bowl record
A subpar 4-6 for both hosts
Thanksgiving Game record
16-4 record (80%)- Dylan
23-6 record (79.3%)- Christian
Superlatives
Favorite Episodes:
Christian: My all time favorite player is Superman himself, Cam Newton, to no one's surprise. Drafted in 2011, his career expanded nearly the entire lifespan on N.U.E. up to this point which is pretty cool. Carolina isn't the model of consistency as far as winning goes so being able to make an episode of my favorite team playing in the Super Bowl was a dream come true. Although we came up short in the big game, I would say Super Bowl 50 was my favorite singular episode.
My favorite episode series to film for NFL Updates Express would definitely be the Thanksgiving Day episodes. The NFL Stereotypes video was right there but ultimately I went with one that just felt different. There's always something special about watching football and eating some great home-cooked food on this family-filled day. Segments like "Food Fight," "Float Madness," "Paw Print Predictions," and "Airing it Out" are among my favorites that have made their way to the thanksgiving specials. My two favorite years would be 2015 and 2016. In 2015, my Carolina Panthers played in their first Thanksgiving game ever where they would continue their undefeated season with a dominating win over Dallas. It was great to predict a Carolina win. That episode also contained Dylan's amazing Rube Goldberg machine to kick off the episode. After days of getting it to work in his garage after school, I'm glad it finally came to fruition. A year later, I introduced a "one-off" segment called "Cookin' It with Clark" where I made a pie on camera and compared thanksgiving ingredients to NFL teams...ah good times.
Dylan: Dylan's favorite episodes were the fun trailers that we made before the season even started. Not very often did we show our faces on camera but this helped fans get hype for the season and made for some good laughs in the summer heat.
Best and Worst Prediction:
Christian: My best prediction was the entire 2017 season, predicting 64.1% or 164 games correctly. That's better than many NFL "experts" do from a season-to-season basis. My worst prediction by a LONG shot was predicting the Falcons to go to the Super Bowl in 2013. At the time, it wasn't a bad pick my any means. They had just come off a 13-3 season and suffered a four-point loss to San Francisco in the NFC Championship. Why wouldn't they bounce back, right? I was dead wrong. They suffered a major collapse, finishing a horrendous 4-12 and finished tied for the second-worst record in the NFC. Case in point why preseason predictions are essentially WORTHLESS.
Dylan: As I look through Dylan's predictions, there is one that stands out above the rest. As many of you know, Dylan is a Patriots fan so it makes sense that his greatest prediction would revolve around them. In 2014, Dylan predicted New England to take on Seattle in Super Bowl 49. They both did. He followed it up by predicting the exact score of Super Bowl 49 (28-24 Pats over Seahawks). Stunning and will go down as the best prediction in NFL Updates Express history. The worst prediction also involves the Falcons. Dylan projected Atlanta to finish 4-12 in 2016. That was the season where they made Super Bowl 51 so...yeah.
Favorite Segment:
Christian: As I mentioned before, Thanksgiving episodes were an absolute joy to make. I could've just combined it with Week 12 predictions but making a separate video just seemed right. Cookin' It with Clark was part of the 2016 video and was unique because let's be honest, who makes a pie on a sports show?
Dylan: This one's no surprise...Dylan's Dynamic Duo is the choice here.
10th Anniversary Video Link
Conclusion, the future and special thanks
I know the next question that many of you will ask is "What is next for NUE?" As for the future of NFL Updates Express, it is uncertain. Will this "10th Anniversary" special edition be the final video? There's a good chance it might. But I said that in 2018 when I went to college and it lasted for another four years. In other words, "never say never." It's hard to walk away from something that you've been doing for so long and that has brought a lot of joy into my life. Regardless of the outcome, I plan to take some time off from the show as I step into my new season of life following my graduation from UNC-Chapel Hill and focus on my path as a marketing/communications professional.
I want to thank everyone who has watched and supported NFL Updates Express for this last decade. Through the countless hours of editing on iMovie and the Adobe Creative Cloud, every second was worth it to me. Staying up late and balancing homework and social life with keeping up my YouTube channel is a real accomplishment. I couldn't have done it without the support around me. There is no way that I envisioned my motivation to last this long. When you do something you love, it can take you a long way. I want to specifically thank the following people for making an appearance on the show.
Andy Novak
Brett Hicken
Kyle Hicken
Grant Northcutt
John Riker
Shane Pokrifka
Sophia Tully
Daniel Aguiar
Ethan Conrad
Yusef Bushara
Aren't we forgetting someone. The last person that deserves a special shoutout is my co-host Dylan Moore. He has done so much for this show over the last decade. With his amazing Rube Goldberg machines and domino displays, it helped spice up the show. Despite his constant busyness, he made time for the show whenever I asked and I appreciate that A LOT! There would be no NFL Updates Express without Dylan Moore.
At last, it's time to wrap things up. It's been real and the legacy of the show will last a lifetime. It's Christian Clark, host of NFL Updates Express and on the 10th anniversary, it's been a pleasure. Thanks for watching over these last ten years, everyone. Until next time...
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