Netflix’s ‘Untold: Swamp Kings’ Florida Football Documentary Ripped by Critics

Many college football fans feel the docuseries lacked a full depiction of the Gators program under Meyer.

At Florida, Tim Tebow’s legacy is unmatched.

The former Gators quarterback became one of the most outstanding and respected players in program history after helping Florida claim two BCS national championships in 2006 and ’08 and earning college football’s coveted Heisman Trophy during his tenure. In the new Netflix documentary series titled Untold: Swamp Kings, Tebow’s reign is on full display under former coach Urban Meyer.

Meyer, with the help of Tebow’s dynamic play and a myriad of future NFL stars, restored the Gators program to national prominence from ’05 to ’10 following three turbulent years of the Ron Zook era. After the four-part docuseries aired, it left many college football fans reminiscing about those on-field glory days of Florida football.

However, some college football fans were not pleased with quality of the documentary. Many cited that the stories focused too much on the players’ successes while avoiding much of what viewers were seeking from a Florida documentary, including full depiction of Meyer’s tumultuous tenure with the program, and the various scandals that stemmed from it.

OK, finished binging "Swamp Kings" on 1.5 x speed and man, how disappointing.

Just off the top of my head, things omitted from the doc include: pic.twitter.com/4frxqV4xYh

— College Sports Only (@CollegeSportsO) August 22, 2023

Swamp Kings could have been a great sports documentary. But it isn't. Like too many recent documentaries, it seems like it's made for the subjects and not viewers.https://t.co/LYEh2No8fB

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) August 23, 2023

For those saying “what did you expect?” I hear you, especially knowing Meyer was involved. But rewatch the trailer. It literally markets itself as being about the off-field stuff as much as the on-field stuff. Even the name “Swamp Kings” implies it https://t.co/RTIrgTvHQ1

— Ben Axelrod (@BenAxelrod) August 23, 2023

I don’t know how a documentary about the 05-10 Florida Gators can bore me to death but Untold somehow managed to do it.

— C.J. (@CJ_Urbane) August 23, 2023

Untold on the Florida Gators was a disappointment. It was more about Urban Meyer and on the field when the interesting stuff to me was definitely in dealing with off the field. That should have been it's own hour. #netflixuntold

— Buy Black Main Street (@buy_main) August 23, 2023

Loved the Swamp Kings Documentary, but man, you can’t tell the story of that Florida run without hearing from Percy and the Pouncey twins! For 4 episodes, they left so much untold.

— Dion Bailey (@dbailey_18) August 23, 2023

For a documentary series called "Untold," there sure aren't any new revelations in this Florida documentary. I feel duped for getting excited about an inside look at the insanity happening in Gainesville at the time. Lotta meat left on that bone.

— Taylor Valentine (@TaylorValen9) August 23, 2023

Thanks to the success of The Last Dance, it feels like we're getting the worst of both worlds with new sports documentaries. They're longer than they need to be and somehow offer even less of a critical examination. https://t.co/nbZcsIOf06

— Joseph Zucker (@JosephZucker) August 22, 2023

I don't know what "Swamp Kings" is, but I know what it's not: an accurate depiction of Urban Meyer's Florida tenure.

That's two "Untold" docs this season (Manziel) that felt more like promotional vehicles than documentaries...

Bring back sports docs that do actual journalism!

— Kendall Baker (@kendallbaker) August 23, 2023

Swamp Kings review:

Very overhyped. Rightfully so, we have been dying for a late 00’s Florida Gators doc for the last decade. It’s just a nostalgia grab. You learn nothing. It’s just a recap of 2005 through 2009. I am officially done with Untold documentaries.

4.8/10 pic.twitter.com/lltSLRwaf3

— Colby Marchio (@C_Marchio2) August 23, 2023