10 Biggest Changes The Long Game Makes To The True Story

Although The Long Game is an underdog story, it’s also a movie that draws on the real-life experiences of a group of young men who overcame huge obstacles to do what they love. The film draws from Humberto G. Garcia’s 2012 book Mustang Miracle.Mustang Miracle is about the events that unfolded in 1957 in Del Rio, Texas when a group of Mexican-American high school students formed a golf team and won the state championship. They were initially barred from playing, and their interest in golf stemmed from caddying at a country club that denied entrance to people of color.

In The Long Game, the director, Julio Quintana, stayed true to many of the core elements of the team’s story. However, there are some dramatic embellishments that create a more cinematic experience. Many of the cast and characters in The Long Game are real people who formed the Mustangs and took the team all the way to the championship. One of the central figures is JB Peña, played by Jay Hernandez, who was the superintendent of San Felipe High School and the team’s coach. He’s joined by Dennis Quaid and Julian Works, as well as many other talented actors.

10 Individual Team Rivalries Are Expanded

It’s well documented that the team experienced prejudice, but there are specific incidents in the film.

Felipe Romero, Guadalupe Felan, Gene Vasquez, Joe Treviño, and Mario Lomas were the young men who went on to become the San Felipe Mustangs, and they experienced discrimination and hatred from their opposing teams. This is a central theme to both Garcia’s book and The Long Game, but there are additional specific details and team members that the movie touches upon. Much of The Long Game consists of Peña telling the boys that they can’t let the taunting of the rival players get to them, as the racism of the judges would always lead to the Mustangs being punished.

It’s incredibly difficult to watch the Mustangs be the bigger people over and over again when the competition is so skewed against them, and the white teams are dismissive and outright cruel to them. This makes it all the more satisfying when the Mustangs beat the odds and win, but even then, The Long Game shows that this isn’t the end of the story. Showcasing clearer incidents of prejudice and discrimination by other young men demonstrates just how deeply racism runs through the community and is taught from one generation to the next.

9 Personal Relationships Are Dramatized

For added depth and drama, The Long Game adds intrigue and complications to the player’s lives.

The Long Game ending teases hopeful futures for the Mustangs, as well as Peña. Learning more about the real people illustrates that golf was a long-time love for many of the characters. It’s heartwarming to hear that the Mustangs went on to work in the golfing industry, raise families, and pass down the tradition of teamwork and companionship to future generations. However, in The Long Game, a larger emphasis is placed on the personal relationships of the characters, as well as how this impacted their golf game.

This is a typical tactic for any biographical drama, as books tend to stick closer to the facts and a straightforward explanation of events. However, this isn’t compelling in film format, and liberties must be taken for the characters to become three-dimensional in the script. While not every character could be given equal time by the film,The Long Game makes sure that each member of the Mustangs is given a unique and truthful personality, as well as a rich life and story that makes their success a thrilling part of the narrative.

8 Hiram Valdes Is Omitted

One of the coaches who helped JB Peña lead the Mustangs to the championship.

It could be argued that Frank Mitchell (Quaid) replaced Hiram Valdes in terms of narrative importance in The Long Game, as Valdes is mentioned in Mustang Miracle and is a central part of the story. Valdes was a coach alongside Peña and worked with the Mustangs to get them ready for each game. It’s likely that Valdes’ story was absorbed somewhat into both Peña and Mitchell’s characters, as they’re the main coaches, with Peña taking center stage.

However, while Valdes was an important part of the real-life events, in a film, juggling too many characters that fill a similar role can be difficult. Major characters are often left out of biographies because there was already a more prominent role with a recognizable arc. Reading Mustang Miracle is a great follow-up or precursor to watching The Long Game. Learning more about Valdes and realizing how many people were on the side of the Mustangs is wonderful to witness, as The Long Game makes the audience care deeply.

7 Pollo’s Added Intervention At The Championship Game

Pollo’s character and the role he plays in the team’s victory is embellished.

Cheech Marin plays Pollo, a groundskeeper at the country club who ends up being instrumental in their path to success. In the film, Pollo gives the team access to the old and discarded clubs and equipment that the club members aren’t using anymore and gives them a free pass to use the course at night. Additionally, Pollo comes through for Peña during the championship game after he’s barred from entering the course. In many ways, Pollo is the guardian angel that Mustangs need as they’re facing setups and rejections.

However, Pollo is more of an amalgamation of the many people who supported and fostered support for the Mustangs throughout the journey. While much of their success can be traced back to their talent and tenacity, The Long Game is sure to remind the audience that no one is an island and that working together makes the team great. Every character performs various roles in helping the Mustangs win the championship, and their interpersonal relationships make The Long Game all the more heartwarming.

6 Joe & Daniela’s Relationship Is Elevated

Joe is the defacto leader of the Mustangs, and so his personal life is explored.

In all teams, it takes every player to bring the group to victory, but in filmmaking, there must be a leader to focus on within the ensemble.The Long Game chose Joe Treviño (Works), a young man with the best swing and most natural talent, who initially didn’t want to be on the team. The audience quickly discovers this is due to pressure from his father to follow a safer career trajectory and not get mixed up with the golf community, as it was, and in many ways still is, associated with whiteness.

Joe is one of the only boys on the team whose family life is discussed this way. Additionally, Joe has a relationship with Daniela (Paulina Chávez), a girl who goes to San Felipe and is drawn to Joe. Though their relationship starts as an innocent crush, the pair soon confide in each other about their dreams for the future. Daniela has plans to leave for college and pursue her career, which inspires Joe to want more for himself and later join her in leaving Del Rio.

5 JB & Lucy’s Fertility Issues Are Expanded

Their struggle to have a child is positioned as a factor in Peña’s drive to succeed.

Peña’s relationship with his wife, Lucy (Jaina Lee Ortiz), is a grounding factor throughout The Long Game, and she’s frequently a voice of reason when Peña wants to quit or change himself to assimilate. Overall, Lucy is an underutilized character who could have been a more prominent part of the film, but when she is onscreen, she steals the scene. One of the definitive aspects of the Peñas’ home life is that they’re childless even after trying to have a baby for many years.

This automatically positions the Mustangs as Peña’s surrogate children and is a deep emotional appeal to the audience, who can’t help but feel for JB and Lucy. In terms of the Mustang’s journey to victory at the state championship, there isn’t much that the Peñas’ personal issues have to do with that storyline. However, in sports dramas like The Long Game, the audience needs to care about the characters and what will happen to them after the movie concludes.

4 JB Peña’s Desire To Belong To The Club

One of the first conflicts the audience witnesses is his denial from the club.

Overall, much more is discovered about Peña’s personal life and wants in The Long Game, as this makes it easier to root for him and the Mustangs in general. The film opens with Peña rejected from the club, even though this is part of the reason he accepted the job in Del Rio. It’s a crushing blow for Peña and can be viewed as one of the inciting incidents of the plot. From there, the audience understands that there is an undercurrent of personal motivation pushing Peña to get his boys recognition and appreciation because he was denied this.

Additionally, the continuous return to Peña’s military service and his desire to be recognized for what he’s contributed to the country are strong reminders of the theme. There is no question in Peña’s mind or the Mustangs that they are American, but they’re not affording the same privileges and treatment as other people in the country. However, when Peña realizes that the men at the country club don’t have the power to dictate who is an American or who is worthy of respect, he’s set free.

3 Frank Mitchell Plays A Larger Role

Dennis Quaid is given a more prominent position in the film.

One thing The Long Game successfully avoids is positioning Frank Mitchell, Peña’s friend and veteran, as a white savior or the ultimate teacher of the boys. However, he’s still a more prominent character in the movie, and much of his impact and influence on the Mustangs was invented for The Long Game. This makes sense as Quaid is one of the biggest names in the film and has a pull with audiences. However, Mitchell never overshadows the development of the other characters or undermines Peña’s authority as the coach.

Dennis Quaid’s Netflix hit is a reminder that underdog sports movies never go out of style. Additionally, though Mitchell does impact the events of the film, he isn’t a vital element of the movie, allowing The Long Game to decenter whiteness as a whole. Quaid’s character is a good companion for Peña and supports the boys, but his character arc isn’t as important as those of the main characters. Much of the story would unfold in the same way if Mitchell were omitted from the narrative altogether.

2 The Movie Begins In Their Teenage Years

Garcia’s book starts a little earlier in the team’s development.

The first chapter of Mustang Miracle begins with Felipe Romero as a pre-teen accompanying a friend to the country club and watching him caddy for one of the men there. It’s a great opening that sets the tone for the remainder of the story. It shows both how white men in the community treat the game of golf and how they view the young boys working for them. Conversely, in The Long Game, the opening shots catch up with the young men when they’re well into high school and have established their friend group and their makeshift course.

It was a smart choice on the part of Quintana and the producers not to include flashbacks in the film, as this would have hindered the overall pace. Instead, it’s clear that several of the boys have been caddying for many years and that they’ve developed skills based on watching the club members play. Additionally, the viewer is introduced to Peña early on, setting him up as the protagonist more than the boys. This makes it even more exciting when their paths finally cross and destiny is put in motion.

Related

The True Story Behind The Long Game’s San Felipe Mustangs

The Long Game film follows the story of a 1957 high school golf championship, telling the true story of the victory and the players.

1 The Country Club Is The Central Villain

The club is used as a narrative embodiment of the beliefs of racism and discrimination.

There are many antagonists in both The Long Game and Mustang Miracle, but the biggest villain of the story isn’t one particular person or country club but the enormous institutions of prejudice and racism that control sports, education, and life in general. This is inarguably the biggest theme in the movie, and Quintana doesn’t shy away from the realities of the racism the team experienced, even within the uplifting tale. However, because of the film’s structure, there had to be a more concrete answer to who the bad guy was.

Though the country club was awful both in and out of the book and in real life, its importance is elevated slightly in the movie. This makes narrative sense, as it was a beacon of privilege and respect in Del Rio, and it was where a few of the young men grew up caddying but were never allowed to play. In media, the country club has been used as a metaphor for prejudice and exclusion, and the film makes use of this cultural shorthand, driving home the point that the Mustangs’ recognition from their community was of the utmost importance.

The Long Game (2024)

In 1956, JB Peña and his wife moved to the small town of Del Rio, TX, partly for a job as a school superintendent, but mostly to fulfill JB’s dream of joining the prestigious, all-white Del Rio Country Club. So when JB is rejected on the basis of his skin color, he is devastated. But his world soon collides with a group of young latino golf caddies who work at the country club, and JB is inspired by the handmade course the boys built in the country to teach themselves golf. With little experience and even fewer resources, JB convinces the boys to start their own high school golf team, starting them all on a journey where they learn that it takes more than just golf skills to make history.

Director

Julio Quintana

Release Date

April 12, 2024

Writers

Paco Farias , Humberto G. Garcia , Julio Quintana

Cast

Dennis Quaid , Gillian Vigman , Jay Hernandez , Jaina Lee Ortiz , Brett Cullen , Oscar Nunez , Cheech Marin , Julian Works

Runtime

112 Minutes