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Any college football fan, especially those who live in the South, is intimately familiar with the University of Florida and its football program. Whether it’s the names of Steve Spurrier, the Swamp, or Gatorade, Florida’s rich history on the gridiron evokes a passion often not seen in big-time college athletics.
Just in time for the college football season comes “Swamp Kings,” Netflix’s latest chapter in its “UNTOLD” series, which starts streaming Tuesday, August 22 and chronicles the University of Florida football program from 2005 through the end of the 2009 season.
Whatever people think of Urban Meyer, the former Florida head coach who won two national championships with the Gators, it’s doubtful that perception will change.
“At Florida Gator football, there’s no second-place trophies. This is going to be un-(expletive)-believable,” Meyer said within the first few minutes of the first episode called, “Go Hard or Go Home.”
What to expect from “Swamp Kings”
Each of the four parts to the documentary lasts 45 minutes. It starts with the day Meyer was hired in 2005 and goes on to detail how Florida turned its program into title contenders after losing to Alabama, LSU and South Carolina, which broke a 14-game losing streak to the Gators during that first season.
“Swamp Kings” is more like a late-night infomercial for the University of Florida, with Meyer and his players effectively selling the goods in their own way.
“I think that people think they know the athletes. People watch a lot of football at the weekend and you think you know these young men. And maybe we don’t. Maybe, you know, maybe there’s a side to them that is much more tender; much more,” series director Katharine English told USA TODAY Sports. “More human. More fearful. More full of hubris at times. What I was so blown away by was how incredible all the players were in their description of the football.”
English said some players did not want to participate because the team has endured its fair share of criticism through the press, whether warranted or not.
Although Tebow and fellow stars Brandon Spikes, Chris Rainey, Major Wright and Brandon Siler do appear, you won’t see Chris Leak, Mike and Maurkice Pouncey, Janoris Jenkins, Percy Harvin or Cam Newton in the documentary.
“But their skepticism was significant,” English said. “And the way we just emphasized that we want to just tell their story, that we want to be open and work with them and collaborative. And, gradually, they began to trust that we would adhere to that. So that was difficult at the beginning but understandable.”
Years in the making, the idea for a documentary on Florida football came from Raw, a London-based production company, and the Players Tribune, a website founded by Baseball Hall of Famer Derek Jeter. The production spanned 18 months, and 12 players were interviewed, along with Meyer, then-offensive coordinator Dan Mullen, and journalist Paul Finebaum.
The access that English and her crew received is revealing, with some behind-the-scenes football from the training room, sidelines, and locker room, and like any film trying to get to the crux of truth-telling, the language and imagery is explicit and sometimes disturbing.
Winning at all costs
In Florida’s unwavering desire to succeed, Meyer’s teams stood out for their success and ability to stay in the headlines because of off-the-field issues.
Nearly three dozen arrests of Florida players occurred during Meyer’s time there, ranging from underage drinking to disorderly conduct, burglary, larceny, credit card fraud, aggravated assault and domestic violence.
Those incidents did nothing to deter Florida from winning games, as some arrested players never faced punishment. Meyer attempts to explain the rationale in his discipline style and creating a culture of toughness. The film lets the audience decide if responsibility was taken or if excuses for bad behavior gloss over the perspective of trying to tell a compelling and entertaining story.
Meyer first declined to participate when approached about appearing in the film but later changed his mind after realizing the blowback he would receive if he didn’t. He said the pressure to win got him addicted to Ambien and that panic attacks were frequent. He left Florida in 2010, citing health concerns, only to return less than a year later to coach Ohio State.
Enter Tim Tebow
One thing that consistent through the series is people agreeing there would be no “Swamp Kings” without Tebow, one of college football’s most polarizing players ever. The second episode, “A New Chapter,” is a Tebow tribute to how he changed the mindset of the Gators team with his tenacity and drive to win, even as a freshman. Meanwhile, Tebow probably saved jobs while doing his magic on the field.
Tebow was handed the keys after Florida’s 2006 BCS Championship Game victory over Ohio State and promptly won the Heisman Trophy the following season, the first time a sophomore ever won the award, despite Florida losing three regular-season games.
After the 31-30 home loss to Ole Miss in September 2008, Tebow’s famous speech, where he vowed to play harder than anyone else, started to rub teammates the wrong way as the media began to focus on Tebow, leaving the rest of the Gators constantly answering questions about their quarterback.
No matter how the team felt, Florida went on to win its second national championship in three years with a 24-14 victory over top-ranked Oklahoma.
Hard-nosed training or hazing?
College football has recently looked at how coaches run their programs to instill discipline amid a culture of tough-guy machismo. Florida was no different, as Meyer confessed to running a team to weed out the weak, especially if he was upset after a loss, a tactic that won’t fly at all in today’s culture.
“I don’t apologize for making it a hard program,” Meyer says at the start of the third episode, titled “Trouble in the Swamp.” “I always hope people say, ‘That’s the hardest program in sports.’
“Every now and then, it went a little too far into sometimes embarrassing guys in front of the team,” Tebow admits.
Siler recalls a story about how a freshman was late to a workout. The ab workout was structured so that a player’s legs were not permitted to hit the ground. Siler warned the freshman that he would get punched in the face if his legs hit the ground.
It doesn’t need to be said what happened next.
In 2006, that was just another day at practice. Today, it’s called hazing – and even assault.
“Swamp Kings essentially is a roller coaster sports story,” English said. “I mean, predominantly, it’s following the most exciting period in Florida’s history. It was an epic time for this team, and I don’t think most people do, you know, know the unfiltered, behind-the-scenes story of that time.
“I think there’s loads of conjecture about it.”
