OT: Saving You the Trouble of Watching the Netflix Documentary "Swamp Kings"
“Swamp Kings” the Netflix documentary about the Florida Gators under Urban Meyer, released yesterday. Unfortunately, in my opinion, it turned out to be a total dud. It was basically a four episode Urban Meyer puff piece. It was mostly Urban trying to be nostalgic and relatable.
I was really hoping that the documentary would dig into all the off the field and behind the scenes stuff that was going on in the program over that time period. Instead, they mostly glossed over it and even went as far as to paint the picture that the team had huge discipline issues before Urban arrived, and Urban cleaned it up.
Not necessarily surprising since the person most interviewed in the doc was Urban himself. Followed second by Tim Tebow. The documentary was about the on the field and in the weight room side of the team. Not the off the field illegal activities (41 arrests on the team, Aaron Hernandez murdering people), partying, bar fights, all the players having law enforcement and lawyers they could call to get out of trouble, etc. that Urban allowed to go on while head coach at Florida.
It was about how Urban instilled discipline into the team. How he changed the culture by not letting the team go out and party on Friday and Saturday nights because he would schedule grueling team workouts at midnight. How losing wasn't acceptable but things had to be done the right way. How the team was a disciplined family, committed to excellence on and off the field.
Urban even has the quote of the documentary, “We have a core value on all our teams and that’s if you hit a woman, you’re out.”
Come on Urban...none of us forgot the whole Zach Smith thing happening...
Unlike me, who kept waiting for the documentary to get to the juicy details, save your time and don't watch.
August 23rd, 2023 at 11:31 AM ^
I probably wasn't going to watch anyway, but I appreciate the counter-recommendation!
August 23rd, 2023 at 12:06 PM ^
Right, I was only planning to watch if it went into all the illegal shit going on off the field.
August 23rd, 2023 at 1:34 PM ^
There was nothing "Untold" in this Untold series. I couldn't believe when I watched the first episode and it was basically just Urban Meyer doing a play by play recap of games against Tennessee, Alabama, South Carolina, etc.
It was basically "The Urban Meyer Florida Gators Story: By Urban Meyer"
August 23rd, 2023 at 5:40 PM ^
Hey Urban 🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕
August 23rd, 2023 at 11:34 AM ^
Thanks for the perspective. I think you saved me four hours or so.
Meyer - Tebow love fest. Anything about the double standard in discipline, etc. for starters vs players lower on the depth chart? Or, the reduction in Public Safety / Police forces after Meyer left? I heard they only needed 1/3 the staff because the players Meyer recruited left.
And, despite all this - I wouldn’t be surprised if Texas came after Meyer later this year - OR - if A&M does once they figure out how to pay for Jimbo’s buyout.
August 23rd, 2023 at 11:41 AM ^
The only thing they said about the "Champion's Circle" is that 1) it existed, 2) it made complete sense to some players, 3) every coach does it but isn't as honest as Urban about it.
August 23rd, 2023 at 1:09 PM ^
I'm just surprised nobody has ever suggested Tim Tebow is just deeply closeted and uses religion to throw the scent off the gay trail.
August 23rd, 2023 at 1:52 PM ^
Dennis, I’m not happy about it, but this thought crossed my mind while watching the trailer.
But if he is closeted I’d imagine it’s so profound for him that he is convinced he is a straight Christian as well, not doing it to throw off the scent.
August 24th, 2023 at 4:52 PM ^
Why? This seems like you have an agenda against Tebow. Just because he was ultra religious? I also used to hate Tebow when he was in college. And during the bowl game we played them I think, there was a story about his medical mission work, and I thought I can’t keep hating this guy. He seems sincerely good. We need more Tebows in the world.
August 23rd, 2023 at 1:57 PM ^
Sounds like the documentary is an image reclamation PR stunt. Meyer probably won't get the ND job next time it opens, but, to your point, Texas A&M, Texas, Alabama?, LSU? or another large morally ambiguous school would be glad to have him when the position opens up.
To Meyers credit, most good football coaches don't retire willingly. It is a great job. He keeps coming back for more.
August 23rd, 2023 at 2:12 PM ^
To your last point, the pay is great, but the hours that go into and all the years and years of taking assistant jobs, moving around constantly, etc. to work your way up the ladder just sound awful to me. Give me my regular 9-5 with decent salary and I'm happy.
August 23rd, 2023 at 11:35 AM ^
Consistent with other reports on social media from people who watched. Disappointing, this should have been epic.
August 23rd, 2023 at 11:36 AM ^
Thanks for the heads up. I would be disappointed going into something like this only for the filmmakers to treat the subject with kid gloves. The same thing happened when I read Malcolm Gladwell's "Talking to Strangers" which was pretty much a treatise on giving people the benefit of the doubt taken to a naive degree. The worst example he gave was that Joe Paterno did nothing wrong.
August 23rd, 2023 at 1:15 PM ^
Gladwell has been a hard no for me since The Tipping Point.
August 23rd, 2023 at 1:35 PM ^
I think his priorities are being a bestselling writer and someone who's perceived as a public intellectual. Actual content (written, spoken) is important only to the extent that it furthers his goals.
August 23rd, 2023 at 11:39 AM ^
I watched the first two episodes last night and will watch the rest tonight.
You're right though, it's a turd.
August 23rd, 2023 at 11:39 AM ^
I watched it yesterday and was (not) surprised they literally only mention Aaron Hernandez one time in the entire 4 hour block. They definitely glossed over all the negative that happened during that time for sure.
August 23rd, 2023 at 11:41 AM ^
The SEC hasn't survived this long by having loose lips when it comes to their misdoings. You can't convince me otherwise that the SEC doesn't have fixers and allies running all the way up to the highest levels of the NCAA. They are the cash cow after all
August 23rd, 2023 at 11:51 AM ^
imagine if each SEC school, and OSU, had a scorned Dudek type substance that sung like a bird after getting fired.
August 23rd, 2023 at 1:17 PM ^
Funny, I’ve had that thought a lot these last few months.
August 23rd, 2023 at 1:37 PM ^
Even when stuff does come out about SEC schools, it seems like the NCAA and media just put their fingers in their ears and go "la la la can't hear you" then it disappears after a few weeks
August 23rd, 2023 at 11:42 AM ^
Did they show them getting stomped by Michigan in the Citrus bowl?
August 23rd, 2023 at 12:00 PM ^
No, and this was my biggest disappointment.
August 23rd, 2023 at 1:17 PM ^
that would qualify as a glaring omission
August 23rd, 2023 at 1:51 PM ^
Agreed! Because it's centered around Urban Friar, it won't have anything to do about Michigan in the slightest.
August 23rd, 2023 at 11:45 AM ^
This, like the Johnny Manziel "Untold" that preceded it, was nothing more than a fluff piece designed to recast the image of the protagonist which in this case was Meyer. No mention of the following:
- Aaron Hernandez besides Tebow taking blame for their 07 bar fight
- Anything about the Pouncy twins
- Cam Newton's stolen laptop
- Percy Harvin's fight with the WR coach
- Carlos Dunlap's arrest the night before the 09 SEC Championship game
- Shelley Meyer's 911 call and Urban's hospitalization
- Meyer vs reporter Jeremy Fowler at practice in 10
- Chris Rainey threatening to kill his GF in 10
August 23rd, 2023 at 11:50 AM ^
The funny thing about the Manziel piece was that even though it was supposed to be a puff piece, he still came off like a complete dbag. Sure it showed his lows, and I have to give him credit for speaking about them. But at the end of the day, it didn't feel like he learned all that much or has changed very much. That said it wasn't all that long ago still, this doc was probably made a few years too early.
August 23rd, 2023 at 2:13 PM ^
I mean Manziel directly stated that he loved being Johnny Football and wouldn't have changed a thing. I think he did it as a thing to do because he is bored versus an apology tour.
August 23rd, 2023 at 2:23 PM ^
Bored and running low on cash.
August 23rd, 2023 at 12:01 PM ^
The Meyer vs Fowler thing...I was actually kind of on Meyer's side there (kinda). I mean, the reporter WAS taking a 19 year old's quote out of context to stir up drama. But Meyer came off looking incredibly petty and bullying. Of all the things they didn't mention, that's one that is a bit weird to leave out, even in a puff piece.
August 23rd, 2023 at 12:13 PM ^
All these "Untold" episodes are like this.
"Malice in the Palace" had some some interesting stuff in there, but clearly was aiming to make the Pacer players look like victims. Jermaine O'Neal kept trying to rationalize everything he did and claimed there was a secret camera angle that showed he didn't do anything wrong (even though every angle we saw clearly showed him throwing two haymakers).
August 23rd, 2023 at 12:18 PM ^
I don't really think any particular player can be singled out with regard to the Malice at the Palace. It was an all-around fail. Slow motion disaster. It was a 20 point blow out in a heated rivalry with a minute left. Why were Wallace and Artest both still on the floor?
Almost everybody still in the building shouldered some responsibility for that. Except for Tayshawn Prince. He was completely innocent.
August 23rd, 2023 at 11:47 AM ^
good to know, I'll skip it. I also hoped the Manti Teo doc would eviscerate him and ND, nope. It was like an ND produced piece that took the onus off him while also propping up ND. Turned it off after 10-15 minutes.
August 23rd, 2023 at 12:02 PM ^
I think that when you get these deep dives, the only way the subjects will agree to be interviewed is if they're painted in a positive light
August 23rd, 2023 at 5:13 PM ^
When will they get to stretchgate and Royale with cheesegate? Those should be epic.
August 23rd, 2023 at 11:54 AM ^
If this era of Florida football is of interest to you, I highly recommend the book All-American Murder by James Patterson about Aaron Hernandez. It is less about just Aaron Hernandez and more like an "In Cold Blood meets Friday Night Lights" dive into the culture of Florida football and how Hernandez both shaped and was shaped by his time there. The typical view of him is that he was just an ultra-macho gangster type personality for his entirely life but he wasn't at all. He was almost devoid of any actual self esteem when he arrived in Gainesville (young child-like) and was shaped almost entirely by his experience there. Urbz is kind of a hero and a villain in the equation, first for what he wanted to do for Hernandez and second for how spectacularly he failed at it. It is quite a book.
August 23rd, 2023 at 1:01 PM ^
Also a podcast series put out by Boston globe. If it has murder my wife has listened to it.
August 23rd, 2023 at 11:55 AM ^
Part of the Urban Meyer rehabilitation tour. Clearing the way for him to get his next coaching gig at Texas.
August 23rd, 2023 at 1:11 PM ^
"Sometimes it's okay to be a shitty person when you're pursuing greatness"
August 23rd, 2023 at 11:58 AM ^
If they did a deep dive in the 2008 Citrus Bowl, I may still watch
August 23rd, 2023 at 12:04 PM ^
IMDB gives it away:(Emphasis asdded.)
This docuseries explores how legendarily ruthless football coach Urban Meyer turned the ragtag 2000s-era Florida Gators into a ferocious winning machine.
* * *
Storyline
College football is life in Florida, nowhere more apparent than in the extraordinary story of the Florida Gators from 2005 to 2010. After a blazing run in the 1990s under Coach Steve Spurrier, the University of Florida's winning streak had dried up by 2005. Enter Urban Meyer, the Gators' demanding new head coach whose take-no-prisoners style breeds not only a string of legendary victories, but also unrelenting drama that rippled well beyond the locker room. In their own words through extensive sit-down interviews paired with archival footage, Meyer and the titans he coached (Brandon Siler, Tim Tebow, Brandon Spikes, Major Wright, and Ahmad Black, among many others) give viewers a bird's-eye view of how they catapulted the Florida Gators from underdogs to winners of two BCS National Championships. Drilling down with a riveting play-by-play of some of the Gators' most blistering wins and losses.
August 23rd, 2023 at 12:24 PM ^
He's still a weiner.
August 23rd, 2023 at 12:33 PM ^
So Meyer had to clean up the mess left behind Zook and Strong? LMAO!! Neither of those coaches has ever been given a lot of credit as head coaches, but they will never - ever - be accused of running discipline-less asylums, either. And for all the bluster of Steve Superior's program, they weren't considered dirty, either. Yeah, they played loose and had fun and ran up scores, but they weren't lacking discipline and focus.
Meyer's teams won't ever be equated with high-functioning, well adjusted, morally acceptable outfits. Maybe his teams at Utah will, but they didn't win on UF or OSU levels, either...
Thank you for saving me the time of watching this 'tell nothing'...
August 23rd, 2023 at 12:37 PM ^
I suspected this from the trailer. Thank you for the warning.
God, Urban is a total bag of shit.
August 23rd, 2023 at 12:38 PM ^
That is a bummer. I was looking forward to this. So far, there hadn't been a bad "Untold." I really have liked this season's installments on Jake Paul, Manziel, and BALCO (that was the best so far this season I would say)
August 23rd, 2023 at 12:38 PM ^
The 30 for 30's will sometimes still sometimes show their subjects in a bad light. Not always anymore, in fact they were always a mixed bag.
However, most of the Netflix, apple, amazon produced docs end up being autobiographies with the subjects producing or at least shaping the narrative in turn for the access.
Jordan's Last dance gave the blueprint of how an athlete or coach can reshape and control the narratives of their careers.
August 23rd, 2023 at 12:40 PM ^
We have a zero tolerance policy on hitting women. Didn't want to kick the kid off the team. But I had to. Then the kid overdosed. After that we took dismissing players from the team off the board as an option forever.
August 23rd, 2023 at 12:46 PM ^
41 players arrested down there during that time under Meyer. Finding out Meyer was a part of this...yea, this was never going to be any good with any actual investigative reporting. What a waste.
Oh...but cheeseburgers.
August 23rd, 2023 at 12:52 PM ^
But there would've been 42 arrests if Meyer hadn't instilled discipline and values on the team.
August 23rd, 2023 at 12:49 PM ^
Watched one episode last night and thought it was very Meyer friendly. Not against interviewing him or getting his side of things but damn you know we're watching mostly because of the different personalities and lore around the team, not about Urbs brand of discipline. Guess that was the only way they could get him to agree to be in it