THE LOWDOWN — THE FULL HISTORY
THE EARTHQUAKE
Valdivia, 22 May 1960. A magnitude 9.5 earthquake, the strongest ever recorded, struck southern Chile. Two million people were displaced and 5,000 died.
THE PROBLEM
Chile had been awarded the 1962 World Cup in 1956. They had four years to build stadiums; after the earthquake, they had two.
THE VOW
Carlos Dittborn, president of the Chilean federation, said one sentence the country printed on banners: "Because we have nothing, we will do everything." He died of a heart attack six weeks before kickoff and never saw the World Cup he saved.
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THE TERRACES — DISCUSSION
The argument also lives in the YouTube comments ↗.