American Sports Story Episode 3 True Story: What the Show Changes

American sports history Episode 3 “Pray the Gay Away” explores Aaron Hernandez's introduction to Christianity through his teammate Tim Tebow. Josh Rivera leads the American sports history released as Aaron Hernandez, the former high school and NFL superstar tight end who was convicted of murdering semi-professional footballer Odin Lloyd in 2015. The first two episodes of American sports history capture a basic understanding of Aaron Hernandez's complicated upbringing, tumultuous family life and accelerated path to becoming a Florida Gator before joining the NFL's New England Patriots in 2010. American sports history Portrays several NFL players and coaches, including Hernandez.

American sports history Episode 3 chronicles Hernandez's celebrity status at the University of Florida before he finally declared for the 2010 NFL Draft. Under coach Urban Meyer, who is portrayed as playing a major role in cleaning up Hernandez after being questioned by police about a shooting, the Florida Gators won two BCS national championships, although Hernandez only participated in the 2008 season. 'Pray the Gay Away' places much of its focus on Hernandez's sexuality and internal struggles with concepts of God, identity and homosexuality. He also continues to chronicle Hernandez's head injuries that led to his stage 3 CTE diagnosis in 2017.

Aaron Hernandez never fought with Jordan Reed during a practice in Florida

The scene aims to portray Hernandez's violent impulsiveness

During an early scene in American sports history episode 3, Hernandez is depicted being disciplined by coach Urban Meyer for showing up high on cannabis to practice and disobeying the playbook. Although Hernandez was at the time in the running for the prestigious John Mackey Award, which annually goes to the nation's top college tight end, Meyer felt Hernandez needed to understand he couldn't get away with it just because of his talent.

He benched Hernandez in practice and signed rising star Jordan Reed to run his game. Unable to control his impulsiveness, Hernandez attacks Reed even though he shouldn't be on the field.

In reality, this fight between Hernandez and Reed never happened.

Reed was a tight end for the Florida Gators from 2009 to 2012 after initially being recruited as a quarterback. Reed was selected by the Washington Redskins in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft as the 85th overall pick. Reed spent seven seasons with the Redskins, who rebranded as the Commanders in 2020, before signing with the 49ers in 2020. Reed suffered a series of concussions that impacted his career and resulted in his retirement in 2021.

He was often compared to Hernandez due to his similar height and playing style on the football field. He was elected to the Pro Bowl in 2016.

Tim Tebow's interception in the 2009 SEC Championship Game wasn't the final play

It was the final straw in the defeat that ended the college careers of Tebow and Hernandez

American sports history reenacts a specific play from the 2009 SEC Championship Game in which Tebow targeted Hernandez in the endzone but ended up intercepting cornerback Javier Arenas. While this play actually happened in the real-life game, with Tebow taking the buttons off his chin strap and all, it wasn't the final play of the game, although it could have been the final sign of a potential Gators comeback.

The series points out that there were about 12 minutes left in the game, but does not include any additional context, such as the score at the time was 32-13, Alabama.

The remainder of the 2009 SEC Championship Game was largely uneventful, although American sports history missed an excellent opportunity to portray the unforgettable image of Tebow kneeling and sobbing as his college football career came to an end.

After the interception, one of five Tebow threw this season, Florida got the ball back with less than 10 minutes remaining. After another scoreless offensive drive, Alabama would regain possession with about 7 minutes and 30 seconds remaining and would maintain it for the rest of the game. Alabama would go on to win the 2010 NBC National Championship Game against Texas. Hernandez had eight receptions for 85 yards and no touchdowns.

Urban Meyer returned home before being hospitalized after the 2009 SEC Championship Game

American Sports Story shows Meyer falling to the ground shortly after the end of the game

Urban Meyer was hospitalized after the 2009 SEC Championship Game, but not as he was portrayed in American sports history. The series portrays him clutching his chest and falling to the ground moments after the Gators' loss to Alabama. In reality, “A 911 call made from Urban Meyer's home around 4:30 a.m. ET on December 6, after Florida lost in the SEC championship game, reveals that the Gators coach was rushed to the hospital by ambulance after complaining of chest pain and tingling. feeling next to you” (through ESPN).

“Meyer's wife, Shelley, who made the 911 call, said her husband woke up briefly that morning and tried to get out of bed but fell to the floor..” Meyer was reportedly breathing but did not wake up after taking the sleeping pill Ambien, which is different from the scene depicted in American sports history. In real life, Meyer announced he was resigning after the health incident, but later changed his mind and coached the Sugar Bowl in January 2010.

A Netflix series sheds more light on the true story

Untold: Swamp Kings premieres in 2023

Countless is an anthology documentary series in which each season examines a different real-life subject with interviews and archival footage. The show's 2023 season was a four-part look at the University of Florida football players and coaches who played from 2005 to 2010, when Urban Meyer was the head coach. As a documentary series, the show is inherently different from American sports historywhich dramatizes real events.

The documentary series features interviews with members of the Gators football team who discuss their own experiences while on the team and how it changed them, or how their sports careers were able to progress. Although the documentary series does not focus on the story of Aaron Hernandez, whose media spotlight came after his time with the team, he appears in archival footage from games and practices.

If Gators fans are looking for salacious gossip about Hernandez or information about what happened to him after leaving the University of Florida, they won't find it in Swamp Kings. Instead, they will meet people who arrived at National Championship games together, remembering the work it took to get there. The focus is much more on the team as a whole, the effort required to be a nationally ranked team and the motivation required to maintain championship level play.

If viewers are looking for a more dramatized version of events, American sports history will give them that. Unreleased: Swamp Kings do not follow this path.

Source: ESPN