Panda Game

In the fall of 1955, Thomas White and Bryan McNulty, two University of Ottawa students, decided to create a rivalry between their school and Carleton University. As sports editor of the U of O newspaper, Tom White suggested that they asked a prominent local jeweller, Jack Snow, to donate a stuffed panda that would be named "Pedro" to be used as a Gee-Gee mascot (as they had not adopted the Gee-Gee horse mascot yet).^[1] Mr. Snow had earlier been a team sponsor and was agreeable that the panda be "stolen" from his store and that Carleton students would be blamed for the theft. It was also understood that the police would be advised of the hoax beforehand. McNulty and White convinced Snow to display the panda in his front window and then organized the first "Pandanapping". The afternoon prior to the game, White drove McNulty and two other U of O students to the store and, claiming to be Carleton students, nabbed Pedro the Panda and took off. That evening, while watching the news on the local CBC station, Tom White's parents thought that the theft reflected badly on the Carleton student body, not knowing the panda was in an upstairs bedroom cupboard in their own home. Two Carleton students, roomers in an adjacent apartment, were also unaware. The following day, White and McNulty made their way to the north stands of Landsdown Park waiting for their moment. Just prior to the end of the game, Pedro the Panda was parachuted onto the playing field. The Panda Game rivalry - and ritual of the theft of Pedro being stolen from each campus in various ways - lasted more than four decades. "Pandanapping" would progress over the years to the point where major vandalism was involved and almost jeopardized the game's future.

Both Pedro and the Panda Game itself became national icons and feted across the country. In 1958, after a 25–0 Gee-Gee victory, Pedro went on a world tour. He made visits to McGill University in Montréal, Dalhousie University in Halifax, the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, UCLA in Los Angeles, and Alabama State University in Montgomery. It is said that Pedro was even sent to Peru, Mexico and Europe.^[2]

The game quickly became the most well-known football game in Canada behind the Grey Cup and the Vanier Cup. The attendance at the Panda Game one year exceeded 16,000, which was higher than that of the Vanier Cup that same season. The resumption of the Panda Bowl took place in October, 2013 when Thomas White, assisted by representative players from both university teams in 1955, presented the winning game trophy to the victorious captain of the University of Ottawa team.

By the 1980s, the Panda Game had gained a reputation for being a drunken party more than a football game.^{[citation needed]}

The 1987 game brought heavily packed stands. Dozens of fans leaned up against a railing, causing it to collapse. 30 Ravens fans fell roughly 16 feet onto concrete. Many students sustained broken bones and concussions, while one female student broke her neck and spent 20 days in a coma.^[3][4]

The future of the Panda Game was in doubt after the incident, but the tradition ultimately carried on. The 1988 game was heavily monitored by police and there was a general lack of enthusiasm about the event. ^{[citation needed]}

The aging stadium at Lansdowne Park fell into disrepair in the 1990s. The folding of the Ottawa Rough Riders in 1996 left the venue without a full-time tenant. As it was economically unfeasible to maintain the venue so as to safely host a single football game annually, the game was moved to Carleton's Keith Harris Stadium in 1997.

The resulting loss of revenue aggravated an already precarious financial situation for Carleton's football team. In 1998, Carleton University decided to cancel their football program at the end of the season after numerous years of sustained financial losses. This decision rendered the Panda Game tradition dead and left the Gee-Gees as the lone collegiate football team in the city for the first time in 53 years.

The late 2000s brought rumours that Carleton may once again look to field a football team sometime in the near future. Meanwhile, serious plans to rebuild and modernize the facilities at Lansdowne Park were put into place. After years of planning, in 2013 the Ravens once again took the field and would mark the return of the Panda Game tradition. 2013's Panda Game was a success with approximately 4,000 fans packing the brand-new Gee-Gees Field, the game resulted in the Gee-Gees winning the Pedro trophy with a score of 35–10.^[5]

It was announced that the 2014 Panda Game was to be held at the newly renovated 24,000 seat TD Place Stadium,^[a] thus returning the game to its former home at Lansdowne Park.

The Panda Game in 2014 was another wildly successful venture, the use of the modernized facility saw the crowd grow to 12,000 as the Ravens came away with a last second Hail Mary catch to win the game 33–31. Fans immediately stormed the field, following the Touchdown. In Canadian Amateur football the convert is an optional play following a Touchdown. The Carleton Head Coach elected not to try the convert and end the game. In Amateur football there is no option for the defence to score points on a convert.

The 2015 edition saw a then-record attendance of 17,596.^[6] It was also the highest scoring Panda Game of all time with a combined score of 93 points,^[7] crushing the previous record of 77 points in 1975.

In 2016, the No. 7 ranked Gee-Gees came into the game undefeated (4–0) as they faced the No. 10 Ravens (3–2). Surpassing the previous season's record attendance mark, the 2016 Panda Game was a sellout as 23,329 fans watched Carleton defeat Ottawa 43–23.^[8] It was the most attended U Sports football regular season football game in at least two decades.^[9]

The 2020 Panda Game was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Following the 2021 Panda Game, there were serious disturbances in Sandy Hill, resulting in several arrests and criminal charges. For the 2022 edition of the game, police increased their presence in the affected neighbourhood while officials threatened to cancel future Panda Games if such disturbances were repeated.^[10] There were disturbances in Sandy Hill after the 2022 game, leading to seven arrests.^[11] In 2023, the game was moved to a Sunday. The University of Ottawa created successful student events on campus before and after the game, and worked with community organizations, the city and the Ottawa Police, greatly reducing any disruptions before or after the game.^[12]

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