"Untold: Swamp Kings" Review

“Untold: Swamp Kings was one of the most anticipated sports documentaries in recent memory. Unfortunately, all the hype seems to have been based on false pretenses, as this four-part series leaves most of the Florida Gators’ stories untold.

The ignorance of the dark reality of this college team is foreshadowed from the very beginning as the film opens with a motivational speech from Tony Joiner, a team captain from the time documented. Unmentioned throughout the film, however, is the fact that Joiner is currently imprisoned on second-degree murder charges.

The most notable hole is when the notorious Aaron Hernandez, known to have faced many issues during his time at Florida, and later sentenced to prison for murder, is mentioned in the film only as “a great player” on the roster.

Those examples are just the tip of the iceberg, as the 2006-2009 Florida Gators football team was notorious for the roster’s countless absurdities and controversies. These moments are nearly completely ignored in favor of telling a cookie-cutter “rise of a program” story that leaves nothing new revealed in the over three-hour film.

What the film does well is chronicle the games played by the Gators during Urban Meyer’s stint as head coach, with never-before-seen sideline clips and soundbites from the players involved.

The two main characters portrayed are Meyer and quarterback Tim Tebow and it seems like the story is being told through their filter, as it constantly lets their opinions guide the narrative.

This point caused controversy among former players, specifically Cam Newton, who came out defending Chris Leak, whom Tebow shone a negative light on while telling the story of taking the starting job. Newton continued to be critical of the documentary's inaccuracies on social media.

Meyer’s bias is threaded throughout the documentary with his commentary on his training regiments and the omission of his health issues, hospital trip and departure from Florida, all of which were prominent stories at the time this film covers.

Unfortunately, there isn’t much plot to go over as every episode feels like a repeat, simply showing scores and highlights, while occasionally offering slight behind-the-scenes insights that don’t do much to spur viewers’ attention.

The on-field story is thrilling, but not to any fan who came in knowing what they were expecting to see from this team’s history.

On top of the previously mentioned star players and infamous stories that aren’t mentioned, the film also fails to speak of star players like Joe Haden, controversial stars like the Pouncey brothers, the domestic violence scandal of assistant coach Zach Smith, Percy Harvin’s fight with a coach or any of the stories behind the over 20 arrests made against the Gators’ roster during this time frame.

Netflix had the opportunity to create the most fascinating story in their critically and community-acclaimed Untold series. Unfortunately, Untold Swamp Kings goes in the direction of an Urban Meyer propaganda piece, turning one of the most controversial football stories in history into a rudimentary championship story.

While the film is a well-told story of a rising college football team, it does not tell the true story of Urban Meyer’s Florida Gators.

Reviewer’s Rating: 1/5

Evan Smith is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email ers5828@psu.edu.