Netflix’s “Space Force” follows the comedic antics of General Mark Naird (Steve Carell), who leads the titular agency and leads a group of highly skilled but equally eccentric scientists, pilots, and others. In an effort to protect America’s space interests, Naird has lofty ideas. However, the authentic-looking military pomp depicted in the series is offset by equally silly situations (remember the one where they have a chimp try to fix a satellite?).
Season 2 plays things closer to home and digs deeper into the characters’ personal relationships and the politics surrounding the relatively young space agency. We hear about Lefty Mickelson, as well as a politician named Bob White. Could they be based on real people? Let’s find out.
Is Lefty Mickelson a real golfer?
Ever since he was first introduced, Tony, the agency’s head of publicity, has remained one of the most eccentric characters on the show. In Season 2, we get a hint as to why this might be the case. When Tony calls his dad to wish him a happy birthday, the latter scolds his son for wasting his time before congratulating Tony’s sister on the “Lefty Mickelson shirt” she gave his dad for his day. special. The social media manager is furious, claiming the Lefty Mickelson shirt was his idea (and not his sister’s). Of course, the father doesn’t care and disconnects the call. So who exactly is Left Mickelson?
Well, in case you haven’t heard of him, Phil Mickelson (full name Philip Alfred Mickelson), also known as “Lefty” Mickelson, is a professional golfer who was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2012. He is said to have won 45 PGA Tour events and, in 2021, became golf’s oldest major championship winner in history. Although he is right-handed in other aspects, “Lefty” achieved his distinctive left-handed playing style as a child by watching his (right-handed) father play and trying to mirror it, thus ending up using his left hand. . It seems the habit has stuck and proven extremely successful over the years.
And so, it seems Tony’s dad is a real-life fan of the golfing icon. Given Lefty Mickelson’s prolific golfing career, it’s not hard to imagine why the advertising executive’s belligerent and seemingly materialistic father would want a shirt associated with the golfer.
Is Bob White a real congressman?
Deciphering the authenticity of Bob White is a little more complicated. The Congressman (tried on by Tommy Cook) is featured in season 1 during General Naird’s deposition at a government budget hearing. White is one of the main politicians on the committee overseeing the hearing and seems to have a soft spot for Naird. However, the congressman is also terribly overwhelmed and claims that the Earth is flat.
In Season 2, White remains unseen but appears when Naird realizes the Congressman pulled some strings in order to involve Space Force in the prestigious Europa space missions. Unfortunately, the politician’s archaic ideas mean that Naird and his team are given a bizarre mission: to give a presentation on how to fight aliens. Of course, the Space Force team decides that a better use of their time is pranking the office, which is exactly what they do.
Although there are politicians who share the character’s name, it appears that Representative Bob White, as seen in “Space Force”, is not based on any member of Congress. Instead, White seems to play a hilariously over-the-top version of an incompetent politician, who, like many other aspects of “Space Force”, is meant to parody real life.
Read more: Is Space Force’s Mad Buff a real energy drink company?
