Usually when you hear Turkey Bowl you think of football, but at Seattle University, it has a whole new meaning. At Seattle U, the Turkey Bowl is where ultimate frisbee has its time to shine. The Turkey Bowl was created as a social activity for all the Vietnamese Student Associations (VSAs) in the Pacific Northwest to get to know each other and hang out.
Reyna Tran Phung, a fourth-year kinesiology major, was one of the senior advisors in Seattle U’s VSA tasked to plan the Turkey Bowl. Phung worked with a team of students to plan the game portion of Turkey Bowl. Once school started, her team got in contact with other VSAs in the Pacific Northwest to see how many schools were interested and how many teams they had.
“We really wanted to be diverse and open us up to other clubs,” Phung said. “We emphasize you don’t need to be Vietnamese to come and play.”
Leading up to the event they also reach out to people at Seattle U. They are very welcoming and inviting of other people. Phung’s team reached out to many of the cultural clubs and Seattle U’s frisbee team, the Throbots, bringing many people together to play in the Turkey Bowl.
The Turkey Bowl was wild and full of energy. Multiple teams from Washington and a few from Oregon came expressing hype, and their chants filled the field.
Vinnie Nguyen is a third-year student at the University of Washington-Seattle, studying biochemistry and public health. She attended the Turkey Bowl last year and one of the game officers for her school told her she should participate again this year. She joined thinking she was going to be put on a silly team but ended up on a serious team. Regardless, she loves playing.
“I’m locked in ready to go and here to have fun,” Nguyen said.
For Nguyen, VSA is meaningful because it is a community with a positive impact. The Turkey Bowl is a place where everyone comes together to connect with their Pacific Northwest family. Her favorite thing about Turkey Bowl is getting to see each team’s chants.
An Ho, a Western Washington University alumni who studied business administration, is the external vice president of the Northwest Vietnamese Student Association.
“One of the reasons Turkey Bowl has been so successful is because of the community,” Ho said
Ho started up the VSA at his college and then gradually he got involved with the other VSAs around the northwest. He said that having the other colleges connect and get together is important because it’s a great way to build connections outside of their own organizations.
He also said that Turkey Bowl was a great opportunity for all the people to have competition and that kind of rivalry while knowing that they’re not alone.
Vincent Luu, a fourth-year marketing major and president of Seattle U VSA, said that their mission is to create a diverse space for all Redhawks at Seattle U.
Luu pointed out that when VSA was created in 1992 it was not all Vietnamese people, with a Thai member on the club’s board. Currently, they have a Japanese person on their board.
“We are very diverse and very proud of that,” Luu said.
Luu said that any student can get involved in VSA even if they are not Vietnamese. He knows that feeling of not being sure if people will like you or if the club will accept you, but wants everyone to know that they are welcome to join.
The Turkey Bowl shows that even in miserable, dumping rain, PNW students can unite under the banner of their love for ultimate frisbee, Vietnamese community and one another. This event is just the start for Seattle U’s VSA in this academic year. For students who are eager to get involved, they can follow Seattle U VSA on Instagram at su.vsa.
