Major major fans of Venus Raj show elation in viral video

"Nakakabaliw" is how fashion designer Veejay Floresca described what he felt when he and his friends heard that Ms. Philippines candidate Maria Venus Raj made it to the Top 15 of the prestigious Miss Universe beauty pageant. His choice of adjective was strong but not hard to believe. In fact, you can see it for yourself. Floresca and his friends Lex Librea, Martin Bautista and Aleq Africa, have become instant Internet celebrities because of a reaction video they made and posted online, which is now making rounds on YouTube and Facebook and as of this posting has more than 80,000 views. From L-R: Martin Bautista, Lex Librea, Veejay Floresca and Aleq Africa The video shows four of them intently watching the Miss Universe pageant's live telecast on cable TV and waiting anxiously for the announcement of the 15 semi-finalists. "There was an Asian shutdown last year, so we were all very worried," he said. 'We laughed so hard' Hilarity ensues at the 2:28 mark when the host called Ms. Philippines, the last candidate to make it to the Top 15. The four were jumping, screaming and hugging each other. Floresca said it was his idea to take a video of their reactions, just to see how they would look like if Venus Raj's name was called. "We watched the video after the pageant and laughed so hard," he said. "We posted it on YouTube because we wanted Venus Raj to see it." "When we posted it [online], in less than a minute it got 20 views, then 60 views, then more than 300 views in 15 minutes," he said. "We were so surprised!" The video, which has been going viral in social networking sites, was also mentioned in Hollywood entertainment blog Perez Hilton, which described the video as "one of the best videos of the summer." Perez Hilton wrote: "[T]he reaction is priceless! You MUST watch this video! You will not regret it!" Floresca thinks a lot of people find the video funny because they can relate to it somehow. "Sinasabi nila, grabe parang ganyan din ang reaction namin (They tell me, "our reaction was just like that")," he said. Miss Universe is the 'World Cup of gay guys' The four friends met in college and have been watching the pageant together for the last five years. "It's one of our bonding moments as friends," he said. "Uma-absent kami sa trabaho para manood (We take a leave of absence from work to watch the pageant)." He said that when Raj was called to be included in the Top 15, they knew that she would go all the way to the Top 5. "We know that Venus Raj's strength is her walk, so we were confident that she would make it to the Top 5." "We even have an Excel file tallying the scores of Venus Raj [in the pre-pageant competitions]," he said. "We knew she would go all the way." Asked about their thoughts on the eventual fourth runner-up's now famous "Major Major" answer in the question-and-answer portion, Floresca said they were "sad but not disappointed." "We knew that [the question-and-answer portion] was really her downfall," he said, adding that they liked that Raj was humble enough to admit afterwards that she got rattled and ended up saying things that may not have made perfect sense. Floresca agrees that the Miss Universe pageant is probably the "World Cup of gay guys." "Correct," he said with a laugh. "We can even tell you who won from 1964 to 2010, their full names and the color of their gowns. We're really the ultimate fans." He said they're happy with this year's results, but now they're looking forward to next year's pageant, where hopefully the next Philippine candidate will win the crown. "Pero kahit na hindi pumasok ang Philippines, manonood pa rin kami (We will still watch even if the Philippines doesn't make it)," he said. "We'll see next year." Netizens hoping for another hilarious video from this foursome will just have to wait for next year's pageant too. - TJD, GMANews.TV