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Before Eva Longoria became one of the investors in Club Necaxa, a Mexican soccer team in the nation’s top-tier Liga MX, she could barely pronounce its name. Now, Los Rayos (the team’s nickname, which translates to “the lightning”) are consistently at the top of her mind. Over the last few weeks, FXX and Hulu have been streaming Necaxa, a docuseries in the vein of Welcome to Wrexham that shadows the Mexican soccer team over a recent season, following the investment of a group of high-profile benefactors who include the likes of Kate Upton, Upton’s husband Justin Verlander, and Longoria.
The show has made Longoria more than just la patrona; like Wrexham’s celebrity co-owners Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds, she’s also now the face of the team. The series follows a similar format to Wrexham, which quickly made the third-division Welsh team a household name. Longoria doesn’t try to recreate that glory but applies a similar formula, adding a pinch of Mexican cultural identity and bilingualism to a recipe that worked so well for the Rob-and-Ryan series.
“Making a docuseries about any sports team has built-in drama, has built-in ups and downs, has built-in emotion,” Longoria tells Rolling Stone. “It’s the nature of the sport.“ Necaxa, which was founded in 1923, “has one of the strongest legacies and is one of the most historic teams,“ she adds. “Their history and their legacy really is fascinating… I’m so proud of the show and really proud of the journey that the team went on during the season.”
Necaxa isn’t doing as well this year as it did during the season that was filmed (they’ve lost their last three games in a row), but Longoria seems all in on making the team improve little by little. “We had such a good run with [coach] Nicolas Larcamon, so having to rebuild the technical team right now is our priority,” she says.
Ultimately, Longoria hopes her addition to the investment squad helps build the team’s status on a global scale — and it seems it already has. “The show really helped improve their image. People just even knowing the word Necaxa is a win,” Longoria says. “I hope that we make them a household name, as is Wrexham. Wrexham was not even in the ballpark of the league, and I think it’s the second-most recognized soccer team in the world today. That’s crazy!”
Here, in her own words, are six lessons Longoria learned from the first season of Necaxa.
Humanize the narrative
Telling our stories is really the purpose of everything that I produce. As a Mexican American, it’s straddling the hyphen of being in both worlds at the same time: not being American enough and not being Mexican enough. We’re always in no-man’s-land, and through my storytelling, production company, and my directing, I’m always trying to bring our stories to the forefront. People don’t realize how big the Mexican league is and how many people watch it. I wanted to lift the message that there’s talent in Mexico. The people of Mexico are amazing, beautiful human beings. The league is so full of amazing players, trainers, fans, and so to be able to showcase that was my goal, because I feel like our role in the media plays a big part in how people see us.
Storytelling can change misguided perceptions
By doing a story like this, people can see the lives behind the players, behind the trainers, behind the fans. We can humanize what it means to be Mexican. We have to do that in contrast to everything else we see in the media. It’s the same reason I did Searching for Mexico. I wanted to show the beauty of the gastronomy of Mexico. I want people to connect the dots and see how amazing Mexicans are and how amazing the country is. We have to treat each other with more compassion and understanding. And I think you do that through storytelling.
When investing, data matters. But heart does, too
Necaxa has one of the strongest legacies and one of the most historic teams. I’m part of an investment group that looks at leagues and teams and really runs the numbers on, “Is this a good opportunity?” Not only is Liga MX the place to invest, but Necaxa specifically has a huge opportunity of growth. And so just looking at it from statistics and data… It was the right investment. But for me, I needed to be emotionally attached. How can we make this team, this town, these players better? How can we help them reach their dreams?
Learn from those who did it first
When we bought Necaxa, I always had the desire to do a show like Wrexham, because I thought it was just great storytelling, and it would be a good show. Rob and Ryan came into the picture much later. We had already sold the show, and when I spoke to Rob, he was so helpful and knowledgeable of what worked for them and how to build characters. He’s a great showrunner, and they’re both super-funny and super involved in Wrexham and in their team. He really gets involved and really goes deep. And so it’s nice to have a partner that is equally invested in the outcome.
Women belong in the game
I had a lot of fears of being Mexican American, being a woman in a male-dominated sport. There was a lot of anxiety about it, but the team, the families, everybody just welcomed me with open arms and and they’ve been very open to all of our ideas. When we did the cover of GQ Mexico, it was the first time they actually got national recognition. Plus, they call me la patrona. You’re not Mexican until you have an apodo [a nickname]. It was really, really sweet that they gave one to me. I remember arriving in Aguascalientes, and they said, “How do you feel about being la patrona?” I was like, Oh, my God, I didn’t know this. I didn’t know this was my nickname. But that was a big honor for me.
There are endless stories to be discovered
Talent lies everywhere. When I have an opportunity to bring that beauty to the forefront, I’m going to do it, and especially when it has to do with my Mexican culture. And I think stories are everywhere. It’s who gets to tell these stories that matters. And when I’m in a position to be able to tell one of these stories, you know, you better believe it’s probably going to be Mexican.
