A Tale of National Pastimes Unfolds Down in Argentina
As he barbecued for his guests at his farm on Sunday, the smoke wafting from his pit like a succulent fog, Eduardo Crowder said he would not watch Argentina play the United States in soccer at the Pan American Games. His hobby is sculpting. What interest would he have in a sport where use of the hands is forbidden?
"You must be the only person in Argentina who doesn't like soccer," a visitor said to a round of laughter.
If her father was indifferent, however, Valeria Crowder burned with the national flame.
"In our country we have three things," said Valeria, who has recently completed her university studies in agronomy. "God, family and soccer."
The faithful were rewarded with an uncomplicated 3-0 victory in a match that ended just after midnight today. Early in this hemispheric version of the Olympics, Argentina has collected several impressive victories over the United States, in sports both familiar and unfamiliar, victories that allowed sunshine to poke through the cloud of political, financial, meteorological and organizational problems that has drifted above these Games.
The mayor of this ocean-side resort, Mario Russak, has been linked to a corruption scandal and left office briefly near the end of last year. Though he was not convicted, his popularity appears to be in steep decline, as evidenced by the jeering he received when he was introduced on Saturday night at the opening ceremonies. Russak did not give a welcoming speech to the 7,000 athletes from 42 participating countries, presumably in fear that he would be shouted down by a hostile crowd at World Cup Stadium.
In an election year, the truth remains elusive about how much money has been spent on these Games, with estimates ranging from $150 million to a figure double that. There is concern about whether there will be enough money to pay for security for the entire competition, which ends on March 26.
Rain last week flooded a practice arena for gymnastics and left puddles in the soccer stadium, where there is no drainage system. Diving boards were not installed until three days before competition began. After waiting several hours here for a bus to take them to practice, a group of enraged Brazilian athletes simply sat in the road and stopped traffic in protest. After the 3-0 loss to Argentina, the United States soccer team was left stranded at the stadium for an hour and a half early this morning. Several frustrated swimmers from two unidentified countries commandeered a bus intended for the American team. When another bus didn't show up, 18 Argentine swimmers had to hitchhike 20 miles to the pool.
All of the troubles seemed far away on Saturday, however, when Argentina shockingly defeated St. John's University, the United States representative, by a score of 6-4 in baseball. Baseball is to Argentina what cricket is to the United States. Argentina had never defeated the United States in a baseball game. The Argentine national team had not played a home game since 1988. Until September, cows were grazing on the grass at the national stadium.
But the Argentines scored five runs in the first inning and held on behind the pitching of Lisandro Cordoba, who developed a blister on his throwing hand but was allowed to toss 215 pitches -- 100 more than a major leaguer is generally allowed -- in a desperate, ultimately successful attempt to defeat the United States.
What if the reverse happened in soccer? Vicente Fornasier, an Argentine fan, was asked outside the stadium. What if the United States defeated Argentina at its national pastime? The thought was almost unimaginable.
"I'd cry," Fornasier said. "I'd have to go to the funeral home."
Soccer is in transition here. Argentina won the World Cup in 1978 and 1986, but its star, Diego Maradona, is in eclipse, having been suspended from the 1994 World Cup in the United States for taking ephedrine, a banned substance sometimes used by athletes as a stimulant.
Since the 1994 World Cup, Alfio Basile has been replaced as the national team's coach by Daniel Passarella, a player on the 1978 championship team. Passarella is a disciplinarian; he has made his players cut their hair and cut back on personal appearances. He has assembled a quick, mobile, unselfish team that had the fans jumping up and down like human popcorn on Sunday night, tossing confetti and streamers, exploding firecrackers and lighting flares in the end zone.
The United States was doomed from the beginning. All of the Argentine players are professionals. The United States under-23 team is largely composed of college players; its first substitute, Jason Moore of Atlanta, is still in high school.
With injuries to its top midfielders -- Claudio Reyna and Brian Maisonneuve -- the Americans could not control the ball. Argentina scored twice on penalty kicks by Marcelo Gallardo. The home side added a chip shot by Ariel Ortega, Maradona's replacement in the World Cup, early in the second half. The victory was easy, if nowhere near as extraordinary as the baseball upset a day earlier.
"I was shocked," said Andrea Martinez, who attended college outside of Atlanta and thus may be the only Argentine to have ever performed the tomahawk chop. "I love baseball, but my family didn't even know we had a team."  PAN AMERICAN GAMES