1978 / 1982

I went to party tonight, and in the home I came across a DVD of the 1978 World Cup. When I arrived in Argentina as an LDS missionary in October 1980 I began to appreciate the fact that Argentina had hosted and won the World Cup in 1978. The luster of that triumph was part of the atmosphere. In Argentina very few missionaries had cars, and none had bicycles. The vast majority of us would walk, and that is how I grew to know Argentina, walking in the coastal resort cities of Necochea and Mar Del Plata, then the small town of Choele-Choele along the Rio Negro at the northern extreme of the Patagonia, after that the city of Cipolletti a few hours further west, and finally in Santa Rosa, the capital of the province of La Pampa in central Argentina. As I walked through Argentina I became a bit more immersed in Argentine culture with every step - - the unique cadence and rhythm of castellano (the Argentine brand of Spanish); delicious foods such as empanadas, gnocchi’s, and asado (the Argentine barbeque); the European heritage that permeates so much of what is Argentina; a military willing to assume a governing role at times; a national folklore evoked by gauchos, the herbal tee called “mate,” and folkloric music; and the national passion for "futbol." When we walked into stores we’d often see posters of the championship team posted on the wall behind the cashier or displayed under a sheet of glass at the counter. We’d see the same posters in homes. On occasion we’d be in someone’s home and catch some soccer on TV. The star of Diego Maradona was rising, but the heroes from 1978 had not disappeared. The wealthy and powerful Buenos Aires soccer club of River Plate boasted at least three of them - - Jaime Fillol, Mario Kempes, and Daniel Pasarella. I was growing to better appreciate the triumph of 1978, when April 1982 arrived. Within a matter of weeks the Argentines would suffer a military defeat in a very brief war over Las Islas Malvinas (The Falkland Islands) and would stumble at the 1982 World Cup in Spain. A national magazine ran a cover story that I could not have appreciated before coming to Argentina. The photographs of two men were on the cover - - Galtieri and Menotti, respectively the nation’s president and the coach of the national soccer team. The headline read: “Argentina, La Historia De Una Gran Nacion Que Casi Fue.” In English: “Argentina, The History of a Great Nation That Almost Was.” NOTE: This entry relates to experiences I had on March 3, but was written on March 20, 2006.