Dancing Lion.

The Cameroonian Masculine experience is deeply rooted in football, where little boys dream of become professional football players when they grow up like Roger Milla & Samuel Eto’o. That was very much the case for me, as I fervently demonstrated my interest in the greatest sport in the world to my STEM-oriented Cameroonian parents by frequently playing football with my neighborhood-friends.

This one time around Christmas holidays, I was about 5 or 6, we had an assignment from school to write a letter to Father Christmas (our name for Santa Claus from colonization) and I wrote him a letter, cowardly asking him to make my mother a professional football player, where I would have all the benefits of a professional athlete without the pressure of being a professional athlete. I remember my mother’s perplexed reaction as to why my wish was for her instead of me, and I tried to find a logical answer without success. On one hand that’s a smart ask for a kid that age, to “work smart and not hard”, to enjoy these benefits without putting in the time on the turf. On the other hand, the truth is, at that time in my life, I deeply feared failure, public embarrassment, and the spotlight. I vividly felt the pressure from external judgement at the time, but the more I experienced life, the more I learned that if I lived for people’s acceptance, I would die from their rejection. Thankfully, I am not nearly as petrified by failure, and external judgement today as I was when I was that age, reason why I can share this with you – Moreover, part of me feels like you may relate to this and that my experience is not unique to me at all. Nevertheless, my love for football never died, I am still holding onto the Cameroonian National Team to impress me at World Cup tournaments or the AFCON like I was holding onto a toxic relationship.

Dancing Lion is a concept which combines the collective Cameroonian passion for the greatest sport in the world, by paying tribute the Indomitable Lions, specifically the Dancing Lion himself, Albert Roger Milla, who is responsible for leading Cameroon as the first African nation to reach the quarter finals of a World Cup tournament in 1990 in Italy. Milla celebrated his goals during this tournament by dancing at the corner flag, hence the source of his nickname. This concept combines the on-field athletic apparel with the formal pregame outfit to highlight the gameday style and excitement of a professional football player. This series features George, a wickedly skilled footballer, who retired his passion for the sport to pursue his STEM career like his Cameroonian parents planned for him. Clearly, the passion for the sport is still very much alive. It’s a Cameroonian thing, Impossible n’est pas camerounais!