--- title: "‘The Mosquito Bowl’ is based on a real World War II football game" date: "2026-09-29" modified: "2026-09-29" authors: - name: "Shannon Corbeil" job_title: "Contributor, Air Force Veteran" link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/scorbeil.md" url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/entertainment/the-mosquito-bowl-is-based-on-a-real-football-game/" categories: - "Entertainment" - "Movies and TV" - "Sports" tags: - "Military History" - "Movies" - "Sports" - "World War II" --- # ‘The Mosquito Bowl’ is based on a real World War II football game ![Mosquito Bowl Netflix]() *(Netflix)* During World War II, two regiments of Marines played a legendary game of American football on Guadalcanal while training for the upcoming invasion of Okinawa. For many, it would be the last game they ever played. **Also Read: [The worst and best college football traditions in America]()** Years later, Pulitzer-prize winning journalist Buzz Bissinger (author of “Friday Night Lights”) compiled interviews from the survivors to write “The Mosquito Bowl: A Game of Life and Death in World War II” and now director Peter Berg (“Lone Survivor”) has adapted the story into an upcoming film for Netflix. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rWIE3-SIOg On Dec. 24, 1944, on an island in the South Pacific where Allied forces would turn the tide of the war, 65 Marines from the 6th Division, 4th and 29th Regiments—[many of them All-American or all-conference collegiate players]()—challenged each other to what would come to be known as "the Mosquito Bowl." The following year, 15 of the players would die in the Battle of Okinawa among 13,000 other Marine Corps, Army, and Navy American troops. The island was swampy and malaria-spreading-insect-infested. Training had been long. And the war was brutal. But on that Christmas Eve, the young men played football, and everyone in the arena—spectator, player, referee—got a little taste of home. “I think it was the last time these guys were allowed to be boys, allowed to do something they loved,” Bissinger said of the game, [according to The Guardian](). “For three hours – not that long – \[sic\] they got away from training and combat and what might happen at Okinawa. It was joy, pure joy, then back to training.” ![Mosquito Bowl Grenade]() *(Netflix)* The film follows four of America’s top football stars who set their fame aside to enlist in the Marines following the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941: • Nicholas Galitzine (“Masters of the Universe”) as quarterback John McLaughry, team captain at Brown University • Bill Skarsgård (“John Wick: Chapter 4”) as University of Wisconsin tackle Bob Bauman • Ray Nicholson (“Novocaine”) as Purdue fullback Tony Butkovich • Tom Francis (“You”) as David Schreiner, a defensive end and captain of the Wisconsin team ![Mosquito Bowl Tank]() *(Netflix)* [Berg told Esquire]() that he wanted to create a cinematic memorial for present-day generations, to highlight not just the valor but the humanity of those who fought. “I want their sons and their grandchildren to understand. I don’t think that’s a message that can be overstated. What we’re aspiring to do with ‘The Mosquito Bowl’ is take the audience on an immersive, visceral experience through the eyes of these four young men into the realities of war, the horrors of war—without politicizing it.” Bissinger spent five years researching the game and the boys who played it, interviewing survivors and family members. His research also included collaboration with [Terry Frei, author of “Third Down and a War to Go,”]() whose father logged 67 missions as a P-28 reconnaissance pilot—and played on the 1942 Wisconsin Badgers with Dave Schreiner and Bob Baumann. Along the way, Bissinger learned about his own father, Harry G. Bissinger, who also served in the Marine Corps with the 4th Marine Regiment on Guadalcanal during the Mosquito Bowl and then in the Battle of Okinawa. “He did not talk about it,” Bissinger reflected, [according to The Guardian](). “It was too painful. He moved on with his life. It blew my mind, the possibilities. He might have been at the game. He liked to drink…he loved gambling, he liked football.” Along with the military and generational authenticity, filmmakers consulted NFL personalities to make the football gameplay more authentic. San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey worked behind the scenes to train the cast alongside former Indianapolis Colts punter and ESPN analyst Pat McAfee (who makes an appearance in the film as a drill instructor). The books and the film capture attention with the story—an All-American football game in the heart of war—but are ultimately not about the game at all, but the young men, barely just out of boyhood, who faced a truly vicious enemy to fight for their country. “The Mosquito Bowl” will hit theaters on Oct. 30, 2026, before arriving on Netflix on Nov. 25, 2026. **Don’t Miss the Best of We Are The Mighty** **• [How a Navy veteran basically invented the sports drink industry]()** **• [Why the Pentagon tried to convince Pat Tillman not to become an Army Ranger]()** **• [The Army Black Knights are the cleanest team in college football]()** ## Author Shannon Corbeil has worked for We Are The Mighty as a digital video producer, writer, and host, as well as a staff writer covering military history, trivia, and valor. Shannon is a fierce veteran advocate, covering the achievements of members of the military community and volunteering in multiple veteran non-profit organizations, including Pin-Ups for Vets and Warriors for Peace Theatre. Her undergraduate degree is in Humanities and Philosophy and her Masters is in Strategic Intelligence. A screenwriter and actor recently seen on SEAL TEAM and THE ROOKIE, Shannon writes about exciting projects in the entertainment industry. She is an alum of the Writers Guild Foundation Veterans Writing Project, a Finalist in the Disney TV Writing Fellowship, an inaugural fellow for the STARZ/VME #TakeTheLead Program, and has performed at the Geffen Playhouse and Kennedy Center as a writer, dancer, singer, and actor. As a U.S. Air Force Intelligence Officer, Shannon supported the 25th Fighter Squadron at Osan Air Base, South Korea, and conducted Cyber Threat Analysis at the National Security Agency. Her work has been seen in Business Insider, Task & Purpose, Military.com, and various other publications. ### Author social links [Facebook]() [Bluesky]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()