‘Swamp Kings’ could lead to Urban renewal for many Florida football fans
Urban Meyer is once again the talk of the town. That usually causes him to cover his ears.
In Gainesville, people are still sore over how he packed his bags and ended up at Ohio State. In Jacksonville, he’ll always be an NFL punch line. In towns across America, he’s largely remembered as Coach Gigolo who got a lap dance from a blonde half his age.
Then “Swamp Kings” came out last week. The Netflix documentary has a lot of people thinking Meyer may not be such a bad guy after all. It’s even revived talk among Florida football fans that he belongs in UF’s Ring of Honor.
Meyer’s defenders say two national championships make up for his flaws. Critics say Meyer’s a deceitful lech whose sins were glossed over in “Swamp Kings.”
Meyer’s rightful legacy is a juicy topic, but it’s too complex to dig into here. What’s notable is how “Swamp Kings” has given the debate a new twist.
Most incoming freshmen at UF were born the year Meyer was hired. They don’t really know what to make of Meyer.
One student told me his entire fraternity house was mesmerized by “Swamp Kings.” The football team was equally captivated by the portrayal of Meyer’s teams.
“They set that standard," Ricky Pearsall said. "We're trying to live up to that standard each and every day.”
They’d better pick up the arrest pace if they want to match the 2005-2010 standard. That part of Meyer’s legacy didn’t get much run in the documentary.
He came off as a tortured football genius who brought unparalleled good times to UF. That's what the next generation of UF fans is talking about, and it's got to sound good to Meyer...
Altitude adjustment: Will playing close to a mile high be a big deal when UF football is at No. 14 Utah?
Patience is a virtue: The waiting is the hardest part. For Florida football fans, it should pay off in the end
Stud of the Week: NASCAR safety engineers
In eight seconds of breathtaking terror, Ryan Preece’s Ford rolled over 10 times in the final laps of the Firecracker 400*. When it finally came to rest, Preece got out and walked away.
Stud II: Karel Sabbe
The ultramarathoner completed the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail from San Diego up through Oregon and Washington to the Canadian border in a record 46 days, 12 hours and 56 minutes. Officials then announced the Pacific Crest Trail would be moving to the Big Ten next year.
Dud of the Week: Shohei Ohtani’s right elbow
Why did it have to tear and derail one of the greatest baseball stories ever?
Editor’s Note: Since it's not sports-related, we are not going to comment on Donald Trump’s booking report and how he listed himself at 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, the same dimensions as Ravens’ QB Lamar Jackson.
We do question Trump’s assertion that he had more votes than Jackson in the 2019 MVP balloting…
Tradition saved: Ya think Lee Corso is done with ESPN's College GameDay? Not so fast, my friend! | Whitley
Tennessee’s NIL came out last week with Volunteer Club Vodka. Twenty-five percent of all sales will go to support the Vols’ NIL kitty. Whiskey, I can see. Moonshine? Sure. It’s hard to imagine James Bond ordering a martini made with Tennessee vodka…
*I know the race at Daytona is no longer the Firecracker 400. But that will always sound better than the Coke Zero Sugar 400…
RIP Bob Barker. Game show career aside, he deserves admiration for being a PETA member who never glued himself to a basketball court to promote animal rights…
Congrats to Viktor Hovland for winning the FedEx Cup Sunday and earning $21.6 million over the past two weeks. That’s approximately $16 million more than Jack Nicklaus earned in 39 years on the PGA Tour…
NIL Update: Quarterback Jordan Travis gifted every player on FSU’s roster with a pair of Beat Studio Pro headphones last week. At $350 a pop, the bill theoretically came to at least $35,000. That’s approximately $34,200 more than Peter Warrick made in four years fencing stolen designer jeans from Dillard’s…
Editor’s Note II: Since it is sports-related, we will comment on Donald Trump shooting a 67 on Sunday to win the club championship at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster. “Some people think that sounds low, but there was no hanky/lanky,” he posted.
If you buy that, you’ll also believe he walked the Pacific Crest Trail in 57 minutes…
Ohtani Redux: Seriously, we can put a man on the moon, invent near-indestructible race cars and create a Tennessee vodka, but we can’t figure out how to keep elbow ligaments from going kaput?...
In an attempt to circumvent inside gambling info being leaked, the Big Ten announced last week it will post player availability reports no later than two hours before kickoff.
In related news, the Pac-12 announced it will start posting which schools are still in the league two hours before kickoff.
Quote of the Week: Georgia coach Kirby Smart after defensive end Sam Williams was again caught speeding:
“This sounds a little hollow, but he is maturing. What was he going, 66 mph? ... That’s 32 mph less this year. Ninety-eight last year to 66, so that’s improvement.”
Oops, that was actually Cowboys owner Jerry Jones talking. Honest mistake…
Editor’s Note III: To be fair and balanced, a Biden Family sports update. The president insisted he never discussed golf with club officials before Hunter won the Members Championship Sunday at the Burisma Country Club…
Florida Football Trivia: When the Gators play Utah in Salt Lake City (elevation 4,265 feet) Thursday night, it will be the highest the team has been since Janoris Jenkins passed around his bong before the 2009 FIU game…
That’s about all the space we have for this week’s Whitley’s Believe It or Not. Till next time, if you try to hike the Pacific Crest Trail, please don’t be hanky/lanky and Uber through California.
David Whitley is The Gainesville Sun's sports columnist. Contact him at dwhitley@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @DavidEWhitley
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Swamp Kings bolsters Urban Meyer's image with Florida fans
