Bougouni Browns Backers
1 May 2002
By Alexander McElroy
Imagine wanting to watch some recent Browns games, and then imagine being in a small village in the middle of Africa during the rainy season. Think of having to ride your bike 12 kilometers through muddy terrain in order to pick up videotapes of last month’s Browns game. Then imagine turning right back around with a 5-pound bag of tapes on your back and riding the same trip back to the village. Once at the village you set up a TV and a VCR, and hook them up to a car battery in order to watch the Browns games on a 13 inch black and white TV. For Scott Lacy and the new Bougouni Browns Backers, this is a way of life during football season.
I e-sat down with the Bougouni Browns Backers president Scott Lacy to let our BerniesInsiders visitors know what it’s like to have a Browns Backers Organization in the middle of West Africa.
AM: So Scott, exactly what part of Africa are you in?
Scott: I am in Mali, West Africa. Many know Mali as the country where Timbuktu is located. Before this country was created, this region was home to some of the most powerful West African empires such as the Mali Empire, the Bamana Empire, the Ghana Empire and more.
I am living in a small village called Disan. It is located in Southern Mali near the city of Bougouni. My host village is a small village of subsistence farmers. The average income for a rural household in villages like Disan is less than 300 dollars a year! They eat what they grow. There are about 900 people in the village and everyone farms. There is no electricity, no plumbing, no stores, no cars or roads, and no tractors. All farming is done by hand and with the help of animal traction.
AM: Why are you currently in Africa?
Scott: I am an Anthropologist. I am doing fieldwork for my dissertation in sociocultural anthropology at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
AM: What prompted you to start a Browns Backers Organization in Mali?
Scott: Before traveling to Mali last year, I knew I would be gone for a while and that I would be lucky to see even one game in the next two years. Also, the September 11th attacks made me feel more nostalgic about being home. Suddenly Mali seemed ten times as far away from Cleveland than it once did.
I was watching my last Browns game prior to my departure last year and the idea suddenly hit me, I need to start a BBW chapter in Mali. I figured that creating a Bougouni Browns Backers would be a great way to talk about, keep track of, and get excited about the Browns in a place where the initials “NFL” are as common as Art Modell fans are in Cleveland.
Once I arrived I searched the community of Ex-Pats and Peace Corps volunteers in Mali and I found several folks from the Cleveland area and a few more who loved the idea of forming a Browns fan club in Mali. Then I explained what was up in the village and to several of my friends in Bougouni and soon I had a list of over 30 people who wanted to start a club. We are new to the Browns Backers World, but we are set for a great inaugural year.
AM: How often and how exactly to you get to see games?
Scott: Last year we didn’t see any games during the real season. We will see the winning games from 2001-2002 soon because I am getting tapes sent from some very kind Browns Backers Presidents who have graciously welcomed the Bougouni Browns Backers to the family.
Next year is different. My family in the Cleveland Area will send a monthly shipment of videotapes to me in Bougouni. Each month we will gather once in Bougouni and once in Disan to have a game day. We will watch the games and I will share any news. I have already arranged for the rental of a VCR, and TV’s are available in both places. In Bougouni there is electric but in Disan we have to use a manipulated car battery to power the TV/VCR. The TV’s are small black and whites, but that is so much better than nothing.
Last season, when we were just starting the club, I shared pictures printed from the web, scores, and news stories after each of my monthly trips to the Capital City.
AM: How far is the Capital City where you get you Internet access?
Scott: Once a month I ride my bike from Disan to Bougouni. In Bougouni I catch a public bus and ride to Mali’s capital city, Bamako. In Bamako, a few cyber cafes have opened over the past couple of years. In essence, the nearest Internet access for me is a day’s travel.
AM: Do you only get the games in which the Browns win?
Scott: That is the good thing about watching games in Mali on video; we will only watch the victories! I am glad we had a pretty good season last year or there would be no games. Last season’s videos have not arrived yet, but that is OK because we know we have hours and hours of great games to watch very soon. It takes about a month to ship a tape and the cost is expensive. Starting next season we will get a monthly shipment of videos.
AM: Did you hear about the Bottle Incident while there? What did everyone think about it?
Scott: I heard about it through my father and in the newspapers. I told the village members about it and they all said that they can see how serious Cleveland is about football. The American members of the Browns Backers all reacted the same. At first there were big smiles and proud comments like, “That’s my Cleveland.” Then when we figured out how serious the situation was, we all kind of just let go of it. Though none of us condone that kind of violence, Carmen Policy was right, we do take our football seriously in Cleveland. The bottle incident only showed evidence of that.
AM: What do the people of the village think now about America and Football?
Scott: They absolutely love it. The kids’ fight over who gets to keep the printout of pictures I bring back. The older kids love to play football now that they know how. Hardly a day passes when I don’t get asked to either play a game or just catch. Having football and the Browns in Disan makes me feel like I really am at home.
AM: Has the interest in football helped you identify with the people of the village.
Scott: It lets me be American in a place where I can so easily slip right into a very different pattern of daily life. It feels great to be able to share my hometown via the Browns. Sometimes I kind of feel like a missionary preaching the gospel, according to the Browns.
AM: Have you told the people of the village about the Dawg Pound and do they understand it? Or do they think we’re strange for running around woofing and wearing dog masks?
Scott: They see pictures and they love the masks!! I explained that the Dawg Pound is where the serious of the serious Browns fans can be found. They understand because there are similar types of customs and excitement here during National soccer games. It’s just that here there isn’t a special place for these people to sit together.
AM: Who are the favorite players of the kids.
Scott: “Tim Couch, Tim Couch, Tim Couch,” say the kids. This also will likely change when we get to see the regular games on
TV. Seeing the players in action will make them fall deeper in love with football and the Browns. In general the kids are amazed at how big the players are.
AM: Do they like any other teams or players?
Scott: No, Cleveland is their first sight of a team and they are loyal as if the Browns were from Bougouni. The great players on other teams are merely considered dangerous enemies. I imagine this could change a bit once we get to show games regularly in the village.
AM: Well Scott, thank you very much for your time and cooperation. Is there anything else you would like to add for the readers back home?
Scott: I want to say how overwhelmed I am by the Browns Backers Worldwide Organization and the Presidents. Molly has been so helpful and encouraging for us Bougouni Browns Backers that I doubt we would have been able to start our chapter without her. Also, from the moment our club was announced to other clubs around the World, I have received scores of welcome e-mails and well wishes from chapters everywhere from Egypt to Houston. Many presidents have already offered to assist our club should we need any help.
Also, Bougouni Browns Backers is about to start an off-season service project. We are making a chapter T-shirt to sell here and in the U.S. All proceeds will go toward the pump project I mentioned earlier. Thanks to the idea given to us by Molly Smith, we will include a pamphlet with each shirt that describes our club and the pump project (with pictures). Should the fundraiser be more successful than we think, and if we raise enough money, we may be able to replace both of the old pumps in the village