# @clubeleven on Instagram

- **Type:** Video
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DXKA5IGxkDb
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/64159505-clubeleven-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/ceca66cfde.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-04-15T14:59:46.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** CLUBELEVEN (@clubeleven) — https://gondola.cc/clubeleven

## Caption

A soccer club made it to the moon 👀 ⬇️

We keep on rolling with continental_tire, helping us on our journey to uncover the hidden gems of soccer across the US! Last year, they hooked us up with tires for all our vehicles, leading us to discover some pretty wild stories on the road. This one may be one of the most shocking. 

On mile 6,570 of our travels in 2026, we visited Merritt Island, FL, to catch the launch of NASA’s first crewed lunar flyby mission in 50 years. But did you know the first time someone landed on the moon, they brought a piece of soccer history along with them?

“If they’re going to be humanity’s biggest heroes this century, they must be official members of our club.” 

That’s what the PR secretary of Club Atletico Independiente from Argentina said ahead of the Apollo 11 mission in 1969. And he followed through.

The club quickly made Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins honorary members (or socios) of Independiente. They even created official IDs for the whole crew with their NASA headshots. 

But that wasn’t all. According to Independiente’s treasurer at the time, their goal was to get club souvenirs to the astronauts so that they’d take them up to space. They wanted to be the first club to have their flag up on the moon.

The club used its connections at the American embassy in Argentina to make it happen, sending the whole crew jerseys and pennants for them and their families.

In May of 1969, before departing for the moon, Neil Armstrong confirmed the receipt of the items in a letter to the club and thanked them cordially for the gifts.

Years later, Independiente’s PR secretary ran into Armstrong at a reception at the American embassy in Buenos Aires. Via translators — and in the presence of the American ambassador — Armstrong confessed to club officials that he had in fact taken an Independiente pennant up to space.

According to those officials, Armstrong said he’d brought the pennant up on the module, and that it had been like a good luck amulet for the crew. 

So what soccer club do you think deserves to make it up next time we set foot on the moon?

#roadtrip
#artemisii 
#ContinentalTireSoccer
#ad
#paidpartnership

## Stats

- **Views:** 1,088
- **Likes:** 151
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## Tags

continentaltiresoccer, paidpartnership, ad, roadtrip, artemisii

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