Name: Untold: Swamp Kings
Director: Katharine English
Released: 2023-08-22T12:30:00

Untold: Swamp Kings covers the incredible run of the University of Florida Gators under Urban Meyer and a talented crop of players. The series is streaming on Netflix.

Story

Urban Meyer signed on to coach the University of Florida in 2005 at a time when they were not considered a particularly good team. They had some strong and talented players and Meyer brought in a strict program to get them into shape.

However, the pieces were just not falling into place until Meyer successfully recruited Tim Tebow into the team. The Gators grew from strength to strength and won the national championship in 2006.

They experienced a dip in 2007 when several locker room leaders left and the new blood got into trouble constantly. They picked themselves off the ground and won the championship again in 2008.

In 2009, they went on an unbeaten streak until the SEC final, where the pressure and the expectation to be perfect got to Meyer and the players and they ended up losing the game. Meyers had a historic 6-year tenure where the Gators made a lasting name for themselves.

Positives

There are many lessons to be learned from this series about dedication and passion and knowing where to draw the line. The players speak candidly about what life was like back then and it is refreshing at times.

The narrative structure of the documentary is organized well. Splitting up the journey into episodes covering each year tells a great story of the team and their accomplishments.

Negatives

The training approach of Urban Meyer is absolutely ridiculous and while it is great to see some players criticize it, it is disappointing to see some defend it as the only way to win.

The toxic side of youth football is front and center in this series and what athletes are exposed to at such a young age. And yet, this is the norm and there doesn’t seem to be enough done to improve the situation.

Verdict

Untold: Swamp Kings is an inspiring series that relives the story of a historic group of individuals who certainly cemented their legacy but still came up short when the time came to do something truly remarkable. It is wonderful to see the former players talk about their experiences and get such an in-depth perspective into the run.