We Filipinos have been on a roller coaster ride of feels ever since the arrival of the athletes for the 30th SEA Games. While we were all initially frustrated because some venues were not completed in time for the events, humor is not lost among Filipinos who have to be “warriors” battling Typhoon Tisoy to get to work or school.
And what better way to convey all these feels than through a language they know best – memes. From the trending #WeSwimAsOne to our “character development” journey meme, we compiled the reactions that have best captured Filipinos’ hearts so far.
A word play on the ‘We win as one’ slogan of the SEA games, #WeSwimAsOne has been trending on Twitter since 3rd December 2019 because of the coincidental arrival of Typhoon Tisoy in the midst of the Games.
This meme from Twitter user Ancel Lopez showing competing athletes photoshopped onto underwater backgrounds made Filipinos LOL because everyone knows how resilient we are when a typhoon strikes, going about our everyday lives as usual.
Image credit: @ancelglopez
Another totally relatable meme was this one from Twitter user @SolidLOUU, who showed a “representative” from Team Philippines Empleyado holding an umbrella because many of us had to brave the heavy rains to get to work.
Image credit: @SolidLOUU
And in case you’re a college student and you’re feeling left out, you have no reason to. Twitter user @_abelrms tweeted out a GIF of a runner blazing through flooded streets with the words, “college students who have classes the day right after the storm […] #WeSwimAsOne”, emphasizing how “little” an effect the typhoon has on us.
Image credit: @_abelrms
Initially, it seemed like nothing was going right – besides the arrival of the typhoon, the reception of the SEA Games was also marred with various logistical blunders such as press conferences being held in unfinished buildings and football matches going on as scheduled even though there wasn’t a scoreboard at the venue. That is, until the successful opening ceremony turned things around, finally.
Netizens were quick to note the “character development” of their countrymen who were all into the #SEAGamesFail hashtag, but ended up as proud Filipinos after the opening ceremony on 30th November 2019.
Image credit: @istian_park
President Rodrigo Duterte, too, made headlines when he was caught on camera swaying and clapping to the performances. In the words of Twitter user @dryedmangoez, he’s “like your Lolo that gets up and dances at the family party.”
Image credit: @dryedmangoez
While things are pretty upbeat now, there were various #SEAGamesFail2019 memes that initially flooded our social media feeds – that left us laughing with their tongue-in-cheek commentary.
For instance, Alan Peter Cayetano, the PHISGOC (Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee) Chair, was likened to Mr. Krabs in Spongebob Squarepants. The video shows him planning to welcome the athletes from neighboring Southeast Asian countries with a bang, only to unveil several unfinished set-ups.
Video adapted from: Gelo Rosel
Some netizens who were not keen on the design of the logo made their opinions clear in a joking manner with memes too. This one from Twitter user @cy9her compared it a 90s classic childhood toy we used to play, where one had to press a button repeatedly to toss colored rings into a stand in a water container.
Image credit: @cy9her
Filipino meme fans have of course given the classic, confused anime guy his SEA Games meme. In this version, the butterfly from the original anime scene was edited out for the water ring toss toy.
Image credit: Stephen Tupas
Harry Potter fans may – or may not – appreciate this meme likening the SEA Games to the Triwizard Tournament. They expressed their concerns at the P50 million budget, depicting the Goblet of Fire “burning” off notes. Yikes.
Image credit: Julius Cezar Barnachea HL
While the Games was not smooth-sailing initially, we hope that the success of the opening ceremonies will continue until the end of the historic regional sports event.
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Cover image adapted from: @SolidLOUU, @istian_park
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