This article explores the social fantasy and popular legend that emerged after the plane taking the young Lima Alliance football players cracked against the Pacific Ocean, five minutes after landing in the city of Lima, Peru, on 8 December 1987. It focuses on the markers of this tragedy and specifically on the different stories that emerged about the event. As the narratives of the interviews reveal, interpretations of the disaster are built on meanings of corrupt politicians, drug traffickers and the Peruvian Navy. The article finds the tragedy in Peru’s dramatic social and political context of the 1980s, marked by the economic crisis, corruption, political violence and dishope. In conclusion, we argue that the responses to this incident from the club supporters opened the opportunity to publicly express deep political and cultural differences that contemporary Peru lives.