MY WORLD CUP QUEST: HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE SPUD

highselfesteem (35)in #sports • 6 years ago (edited)

15/32 WORLD CUP TEAMS COMPLETED

THERE IS A REAL HISTORY BETWEEN THESE TWO

As a child I loved history in school. Individuals seemed to have single-handedly shaped the course of history with their wars, their peaces, their inventions, their acts and their decisions. In the books history played out in linear timelines that were easy to understand. Every thing was black and white in the black and white days. If we go back in time and kill Hitler we could avert World War 2. If Einstein had remained working in the patent office we'd never have got the atomic bomb. If Marc Zuckerberg decided to become an accountant we'd never have had the chance to share our lunch with so many people.

Of course history doesn't work like that just because we fashion it so. We like to simplify the immense complexity into simple narratives. Gandhi good, Stalin bad. We want patterns, reasons and answers. We find ourselves disturbed without them. And when they don't exist or our knowledge comes up short, we invent them. These heuristics are often useful but they don't always tell the full picture.

THE CONSTANT GARDENER

As an Irishman the most important "fact" I know about Peru is that they "invented" the potato. (A number of tribes across what are different countries today were cultivating the vegetable.) The people who lived on and around the Andes are amongst the most influential horticulturalists the world has ever known. As well as the versatile spud their list of fruits , grains and vegetables that originate in this region is long and varied. Imagine life without tomato, peanut, sweet potato, rice, cacao and avocado. Imagine South East Asia without the gifts of guava, passion fruit, chili peppers, cashew nuts, papaya and pineapple from their South American brethren. But we don't really know who "they" are. There is no statue to Andre the Great who selflessly toiled until those sour little weeds tasted sweet as a pineapple. In all likelihood there was no singular Andre from the Andes. There was many Andres and Andreas. They all had a hand in how we and the potato got here. History is going where it is going in waves. No matter what cable news tells you it doesn't turn on pivots day to day. If Hitler wasn't born, war was still likely to come. Maybe sooner, maybe later. When we get new inventions they are often invented at the same time, by different people independently, around the world. The culmination of all previous actions has a much greater force on history than the individual temperament of a Napoleon, a Joan of Arc or a Steve Jobs. The final straw does not break the camel's back. All the straws do.

SCHOOLED

In school I learned about the Potato Famine of Ireland. It is not light reading at any age. Had there not been potatoes, the famine of 1840's Ireland would have probably come in the shape of some other mis-managed calamity. The potato blight that "caused" it was one of many factors that led to Ireland's greatest disaster. I have made peace with my ancestors' staple diet. It is not the potato's fault for being so easy to grow, so nutritious and so delicious all at the same time. If I had a time machine I would no longer try to stop Sir Walter Raleigh from bringing those first potato seeds from Peru to Irish shores 4 centuries ago. Not eating spuds would be a great mistake. I have learned to stop worrying and love the mashed potato.

Thus were my thoughts as I frantically walked along Sukhumvit Soi 11. I'd heard there was a Peruvian chef working at Above Eleven restaurant at the bottom of the street. I wondered if potatoes were on the menu tonight?

FROM RUSSIA WITH SPUDS

Half way to my destination a flash of red and white caught my eye. I looked back to see three men clad in Peruvian shirts sitting in a busy German bar watching the screen. The wave of history had carried me this far and I had to seize this chance. I bought a drink and hovered around the table until I heard some Spanish being spoken. You never can be sure who is from where these days with hipster football fans and their beloved obscure jersey collection. (The Nigerian national team had all of their official replica gear sold-out before the World Cup had even started.)

Once more I had a memorable conversation with new friends in Bangkok. Some of the Peruvians were working here while another was visiting. They told me that after waiting 36 years for a World Cup game, the whole country was trying to visit Russia this month. The commentator confirmed their story announcing that the overwhelming majority of the crowd in the stadium were from Peru. This is even more impressive considering they were playing France. The distance from Peru to Russia is at least three times the distance than France is from Russia.

But even an army of 50,000 cheering Peruvians can't stop the wave of history. The weight of French strength on the pitch once more prevailed and sent the Peruvians packing. Meanwhile in Bangkok, at the German Beerhouse, I smiled at my fellow potato loving friends and thanked them for their welcome. Sometimes you make history and sometimes you are just there to witness it.