When most college students think of Spring Break, usually they think of exciting adventures, traveling to exotic places, or a chance to go out with friends and have some fun away from studies. While all that is true, the first weekend of Spring Break is an even greater anticipation for PhilSA and GoodPhil participants every year.
Now you may be wondering, what is “PhilSA” and “GoodPhil”? For those of you who are unfamiliar, TAMU PhilSA is the first Filipino Student Association out of the 13 FSA universities across Texas and Oklahoma. It is one of the largest Asian organizations on campus, representing the Filipino student body and culture. Fortunately, you don’t need to be Filipino to join the organization (I’m half-Chinese, half-Mexican). In fact, PhilSA encourages everyone from all ethnic backgrounds to join and learn more about Filipino culture. Also, similar to Greek life, PhilSA brings people together through their “phamily” culture and activities such as sports, culture, and dance.
What really makes this Asian organization stand out is the annual GoodPhil Games that unites all 13 Filipino Student Associations from all over Texas. This traditional event was founded back in 1991 by TAMU PhilSA’s very own president, Reggie Perez. What originated as a weekend showdown between arch-rivals TAMU and UT, GoodPhil Games evolved into a Spring annual three-day conference and competition with the 13 FSAs from all over Texas and Oklahoma facing each other head-to-head in dance, sports, and school spirit. Every year, the GoodPhil Games are rotated to a different host school, with GoodPhil 2024 hosted by UTA.
This was my second year attending the GoodPhil Games as a sports participant. While my first experience at GoodPhil in 2023 had a rocky start (that is a whole other story for a different day), I had high anticipations for GoodPhil 2024. With the highs and lows and all in between, here is my quick rundown of the 2024 GoodPhil Games:
DAY 1: OPENING CEREMONY
The opening ceremony for GoodPhil 2024 was first kicked off at 4:30 p.m. in The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory. After a lengthy drive up to Irving from College Station, I was excited to sit down and watch the performances each of the schools had worked hard for. The auditorium was packed with family and friends from all over sitting with their prospective schools, showcasing their loud school spirit.
The first category of performances each school showcased was Spirit — a skit that followed a pop-culture theme while showcasing school pride and Filipino culture. TAMU PhilSA’s 2024 Spirit show was a fun skit with Kung Fu Panda as the theme. Other schools also had entertaining performances, with my favorite highlight being UT FSA’s Percy Jackson-themed skit containing Filipino Grover dancing to Lady Gaga’s iconic “Poker Face”.
Later in the night, the cultural performances started with each school performing a unique dance celebrating a traditional Filipino dance. While each school did great in its performances, I can say with my totally unbiased opinion that TAMU PhilSA’s cultural performance was the best regarding storytelling, choreography, and costuming. But if you don’t believe me, go watch for yourself ;)
And finally, the most anticipated moment of the night took off with the Modern performances. These dance performances consisted of high-energy hip-hop productions with intense music and lighting enhancing the energy. The productions may have been too energetic as there may or may not have been a few mosh pitting occurring in the audience under the loud music and flashing lights. With TAMU PhilSA Modern being the last dance group to represent our school that night, the Aggie crowd was extra loud and proud as we cheered on their performance.
DAY 2: INDOOR SPORTS
The start of the GoodPhil Games sports tournament was an exciting one. The first day of sports focused on indoor sports, including basketball, volleyball, and dodgeball. Weaving through the packed gyms in the UTA Maverick Activity Center, I felt the energy surging from the crowds. Each team had their own unique jersey to represent their school pride and the supporting crowds each yelled their own unique chants. While I didn’t get to watch every single game (it was quite literally impossible), I will say one of my favorite highlights was the TAMU PhilSA Women’s Basketball game against UTD. It was a very close game and the clock was running out with PhilSA needing just three more points to tie. At the very last second left of the game, PhilSA had the ball… but it was unfortunately too late. While it was an unfortunate loss, the game definitely put everyone at the edge of their seats, unable to peel their eyes away.
With the day wrapping up, every PhilSA indoor sports team proudly moved forward in the bracket to playoffs, with Men’s A Basketball, Men’s Volleyball, and Co-Ed Volleyball automatically qualifying for the semifinals.
DAY 3: OUTDOOR SPORTS & THE HIGHS AND LOWS OF FLAG FOOTBALL
The big day had finally come. As the captain for the PhilSA Women’s and Co-Ed Flag Football team, I was anxious to end this season with a bang. As I walked onto the intramural fields, my feet soggy from the mud, I joined my teammates to play our first women’s flag football game against UH. While to others it may have looked like a normal flag football game, to us it was a game of redemption. We previously had a scrimmage against the UH Women’s flag football team a week prior, with us losing at the last second by one point. This day was our time to redeem ourselves and beat UH. The cold and wet conditions, however, didn’t make the game easy. With UTA lacking an official football team, there were no football fields to work on, resulting in makeshift fields on baseball outfields. Nevertheless, the game was on with the girls determined to play their hardest. It was another intense game, with both teams cutting it close. Unfortunately, we lost by just two points but that wasn’t the end for my team. We beat BU in our next game and scored enough points to qualify for quarterfinals later that day.
It was finally getting warmer with the field drying up. A crowd of Aggies grouped up on the field for the first co-ed flag football game: TAMU vs UT. This was definitely one of my highlights of the day. With a giant crowd backing us up with the classic Aggie Yells (BTHO t.u.!), PhilSA beat UT FSA 18-9. With excitement, the crowd formed a human tunnel as my team and I ran through and cheered for our win. With a quick win against UTSA soon after, the PhilSA Co-Ed Flag Football team automatically made it to the semifinals the next day.
The sun was now gone and my team was exhausted after numerous games played that day. But this last game of the night held the most importance to the team… it was quarterfinals for women’s flag football. TAMU PhilSA was set to play against UNT and my team got to work warming up. Anxiety was high as we got ready, each girl honing in to their fullest potential. After months and months of practicing and many hours put in during Hell Week to prepare for GoodPhil, this was our time to shine. It was the most intense game yet from the whole weekend. UNT was tough and the girls were skilled. We tied with little time left in the game, and I yelled at the top of my lungs with the rest of the team as we encouraged our girls on the field to persevere… but it was too late. UNT scored with seconds left in the game and ran the clock.
It was one of the toughest losses yet, but I couldn’t have been any happier to have experienced the thrill with my teammates. We put our blood, sweat, and tears (literally) into this team and I am so extremely proud of what we have accomplished. While ultimately we didn’t win, I had the privilege to grow close with the girls and form cherished friendships. It is moments like these that I know will stick with me for a lifetime.
DAY 4: SPORTS TOURNAMENT AND AFTER-PARTY
Finally, it was playoffs time and PhilSA did not disappoint. With all the hard work put in by the players and captains, TAMU PhilSA made the leadership board with Women’s Volleyball and Co-Ed Soccer making 1st place, Men’s A Basketball, Co-ed Flag Football, and Ultimate Frisbee making 2nd place, and Men’s Volleyball and Co-ed Volleyball making 3rd place.
As a tradition, the GoodPhil Games concluded with an after-party — this year at the Texas Republic Ranch. With all the FSAs reunited once more, the winners of the dances and sports were announced at midnight. As I predicted, PhilSA Cultural won in their category, with the Best Execution award. Finally, to end the night off, it was announced that the Overall GoodPhil Winner of 2024 to take home the prized GoodPhil trophy was none other than TAMU PhilSA! I am so proud of my school and this organization. It has been a blessing to work with such wonderful people and watch my friends succeed in the activities that they love.
For Aggies who are curious about spectating (or even participating) at next year’s GoodPhil, you’re in luck! The 2025 GoodPhil Games will be located right here in College Station with TAMU PhilSA hosting. So feel free to come out next year to support your school as PhilSA fights to hold its title as GoodPhil Overall Winner!