An Argentine football club has its colours in the moon taken by Armstrong
Astronaut Neil Armstrong, who died on Saturday at the age of 82, planted in the moon a pennant from the Argentine football team Independiente, something he personally revealed during a visit to Buenos Aires, recalls the club from one of the working neighbourhoods of the Argentine capital.
The man to first set foot on the moon visited Buenos Aires with his team mates Edwin Aldrin and Michael Collins during a world tour with which they celebrated one of last century’s greatest humanity’s achievements.
And once in Buenos Aires Armstrong confirmed that he effectively had taken an Independiente pennant to the moon, an event many Argentines did not believe when it was first revealed by the club’s authorities.
Hector Rodriguez, at the time Independiente’s head of Culture and Public Relations proposed before the takeoff of Apollo XI to make honorary life members the three astronauts: Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins. “If they are to be the greatest heroes of the century, they must be members of Independiente”.
His proposal was accepted by the board of the club and the three were registered as members 80.399, 80.400 and 80.401. The memberships with official photos supplied by the US embassy in Buenos Aires were sent to the US together with complete colour uniforms for the children of the astronauts plus the club’s pennants.
In May 1969 Armstrong in a letter thanked the club and said he would like to visit Buenos Aires soon and that “he hoped circumstances would allow him to visit the club”, which finally happened.
The astronauts visited the Argentine capital in November that year and Rodriguez was invited to a reception in the US embassy which at the time was headed by John Davis Lodge. It was on that occasion that Armstrong said that the pennant they took to the moon and planted in lunar soil had “brought them luck”.
Although Independiente currently is not going through a good spell, it is the club which has won most times (seven) the South American Liberators Cup and obviously the only one with the colours of the club in the moon.
Suggested Stories
-
Jun 19th 2013
Argentina bans British made ejection seats from local jet trainer IA-63 Pampa III
-
Jun 19th 2013
Malvinas C24 Argentina petitioners: Maria Angelia Vernet and Alejandro Betts
-
Jun 19th 2013
India-Argentina pledge to improve trade; Timerman thanks Delhi support on Malvinas dispute
-
Jun 18th 2013
British tapped phones and computers of G20 summit held in London, claims The Guardian
17 comments Feed
Note: Comments do not reflect MercoPress’ opinions. They are the personal view of our users. We wish to keep this as open and unregulated as possible. However, rude or foul language, discriminative comments (based on ethnicity, religion, gender, nationality, sexual orientation or the sort), spamming or any other offensive or inappropriate behaviour will not be tolerated. Please report any inadequate posts to the editor. Comments must be in English. Thank you.
I cannot stop laughing bloody Argies always manage to be everywhere even in the moon.
& l suppose the first non-Argentine colony on the moon will be “implanted”?
Why didn't you take the colours of Boca Junior to the moon. That's a real football team. LOL
Pathetic reply. Clearly these obsecionada, worse than a malvinista on the conflict in the Malvinas-Falklands. Pity that hatred and resentment will govern. Is the image you give.
Have peace .......
5 British_Kirchnerist
I share your opinion. Humanity fraternize in large and small gestures ...
I leave a thought:
Men build too many walls and not enough bridges.
Isaac Newton (1642-1727) British mathematician and physicist.
Jajajaja!
“Why didn't you take the colours of Boca Junior to the moon. That's a real football team. LOL”
Yes, I totally agree with you on that :-)
Effectively? Either he did or he didn't.
Was this before or after he became a muslim? When was it was first revealed by the club’s authorities? When it was first revealed by Armstrong?
The Falklands may as well be in the Oceanus Procellarum, such is the chances of Argentina getting their hands on it.
Well its in the same catagory as your ridiculous “claims” to the Falklands, South Georgia & British Antarctica.
Territories that you've NEVER owned. You just WOULD LIKE TO own.
lts on par with your pathetic leader's pathetic & unreasonable “claims”.
@9 JUBA,
l AM home. But you are not. Go home to Spain.
Ps, there is no such place as malvinas, only in your head.♥
And Isolde is at home in the Falklands, and she can probably trace her ancestors on the islands further back than you can trace your ancestors in Argentina.
Or are you going to try and tell us that you are a native Amerindian again? Especially as after the last time when you forgot your claim to native blood and began blogging racist crap?
Why, in your opinion, do the descendants of Spanish and Italian colonists have the right to keep the land that their ancestors settled after taking it from native people, but those who are descended from British colonists who took the land from no native people don't?
Please give us your wisdom on this matter?
In regards to the story, I'm quite cynical. Why wait until after Armstrong is dead to make this claim? Why didn't this football club ever mention it before?
Is there any independent verification of this claim, such as a member of Armstrongs family whom he told?
Why would he take a pennant from an Argentine football club (most US citizens barely even noticed that non-American football existed in the 60's and 70's), and not an American sports team that he supported?
It just seems strange to me.
Commenting for this story is now closed.
If you have a Facebook account, become a fan and comment on our Facebook Page!