Chomp in the Swamp

09/27/2023

By: Marissa Kasch

An Honest Review of the ‘Swamp Kings’ Documentary on Netflix 

If you haven’t watched the Swamp Kings documentary on Netflix, go watch it ASAP. Being a current Gator, I may be a little biased in my opinion. But yes, I think it was really that good. In case you haven’t seen it, the documentary highlighted Florida’s reign under Urban Meyer in the early 2000’s. It showed packed stadiums, passionate fans, an electric form of Gainesville and the stories of players from championship-winning teams. It was almost all-encompassing. Conveniently, the documentary spared viewers the gory details of Urban’s departure from Florida. In fact, it painted Urban as a saint. Well, this swamp queen isn’t here for that.

Like him or not, I think we can all agree that Urban Meyer is no saint. There’s no doubt he’s a great coach. There was plenty of evidence of that in the documentary. But he’s made one too many headlines over the years. He’s been involved in one too many controversial situations for my taste.

 

Urban Meyer’s Legacy

The documentary silenced any doubts about Urban Meyer’s coaching ability – if there were any to begin with. It showed Urban building the team from scratch. It illustrated the tireless recruiting process, the long hours of training for players and the rousing locker-room speeches essential to any good coach. It was also abundantly clear that the players respected Coach Meyer and had a good relationship with him. The respect was mutual: Urban cared deeply about his players. He checked in on them, offered resources to keep them on track and maintained high expectations. He even helped some players by inviting them to dinner at his house when there was nowhere else for them to go.

I absolutely think that story should’ve been included in the documentary. It’s heartwarming and it shows how football is so much more than just a game. However, I didn’t agree with the documentary’s decision to highlight every moment in Urban’s career and personal life while excluding the blemishes. Let’s not forget this is the same man who got caught cheating just a few years ago. It’s also the same man who reportedly cursed at and kicked Jaguars kicker Josh Lambo while he was stretching before practice. Oh yeah, he’s also the guy who was suspended because he knew about a domestic violence incident involving a member of his staff and didn’t say anything.

As if that wasn’t enough drama, there’s always the sticky situation of Urban leaving Florida. When he left in 2010, his reasoning was medical concerns and the public presumed it was a heart attack. The documentary definitely corroborated that part. Urban was stressed beyond belief during his time at Florida. That’s what made him such a great coach: He cared and wanted to win, almost to a fault. That fault didn’t manifest on the field, but it did in his health. He became addicted to Ambien and constantly felt stressed. He was taken by ambulance to a hospital in Gainesville complaining of chest pains. All of that was totally valid, and I felt for Urban’s stress. The pressure of being the best is a heavy burden to carry for anyone. What I (and a lot of people) don’t understand about that story is, if he was leaving solely due to health reasons, why did he join ESPN as an analyst less than a month later? Then take the job at Ohio State less than a year later? Why lie about taking a step back? People understand that jobs come up and coaches leave. Fans would’ve been a lot happier with a proper send off rather than betrayal and a team left in shambles.

 

More Tim Tebow, Please

I was excited to watch a documentary about Tim Tebow’s dominance and the reality of the controversial 2008 Gators, but this felt more like an Urban Meyer documentary to me.

The parts I saw of Tebow and his teammates, I loved. The documentary offered a glimpse of an era where the Gators dominated the SEC. It gave me a chance to live out Florida’s glory days and reminisce on watching Tebow from the stands at 6 years old. Now, I am a junior at UF, and I still have yet to see anything like that since. Everyone in Gainesville I’ve talked to agrees that attending UF during that era would have been nothing short of insanity, in the best way possible.

Arguably the best part of the documentary was Urban’s decision to throw Tebow in to get a first down versus Tennessee. At the time, Tebow was only a freshman. “It was so loud – 111,000 people, national TV, and I just grab him and say, ‘It’s time’,” Urban said. The atmosphere at the game and that line alone are enough to send chills down your spine. Never mind the part where Tebow inevitably gets the first down.

 

Reality in ‘The Swamp’

I also appreciated how ‘Swamp Kings’ gave us a glimpse into the lives and personalities of the players. Gators got real about partying at Gainesville clubs, getting into some generally harmless trouble, playing football and having a lot of fun. At the time, the Gators had bigger issues than partying and a few traffic stops (ie. Aaron Hernandez), but that’s not abnormal in college football. There was only one player who adamantly denied being a part of that culture. You don’t need to watch the documentary to know who he was. Teammates said Tebow only cared about two things: football and his bible. Tebow took his approach to winning a little differently than his teammates, but his drive to win was just as high as anyone’s, if not higher. He fostered a respectful environment on the team and embraced a cooperative attitude among teammates to secure decisive victories.

Like I said, if you haven’t seen this documentary, I highly recommend it. Even if you’re the biggest Georgia fan on the planet, college football is back and ‘Swamp Kings’ shows what you don’t always see on Saturdays: community, discipline, dedication, tradition and a winner’s mentality. If you’re a college football fan looking for more football beyond Saturdays, ‘Swamp Kings’ is your answer.

Just prepare for a lot of Urban Meyer accolades, warranted or not.

 

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