The annual Panda Game is hands-down one of the biggest games in Canadian university football and perhaps the most storied single game in all of Canadian sports.
The Ravens dropped the latest edition of the Panda Game on Oct. 2 by a score of 19-17, losing their third straight Panda Game. But how did we get here—and will Carleton ever win again?
The beginnings
In 1955, editors of The Fulcrum, uOttawa’s student newspaper, promoted and advertised the upcoming football game against Carleton. Jack Snow, a local business owner known for sponsoring youth sports in Ottawa, donated a stuffed panda named Pedro to serve as mascot for uOttawa.
The editors of The Fulcrum then staged a fake heist where the panda was reported stolen from Snow’s jewelry store. The idea was to blame Carleton for the theft of the stuffed bear and spark a rivalry for the game—and it worked.
The tradition
Despite winning in 1955 and 1956, Carleton lost regularly over the next 40 years. By the 1960s, Pedro and the Panda Game were a sensation that captured Ottawa and all of Canada. Over those years, the games would serve as the host to many spectators.
In 1958, Pedro went on a world tour, visiting campuses across Canada and the globe. In 1977, three pigs were released onto the field, halting the game while officials chased them down. One year, Pedro parachuted into Lansdowne Park; another year, he was buried under the field.
The original stuffed animal was sent to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1979 but went missing. A replica was made but allegedly stolen in a stunt by a group of Queen’s University students who dubbed themselves the “Pedro Liberation Organization.”
Eventually, the stuffed animal was replaced with a metal trophy in his likeness. The original stuffed Pedro appeared lost for good—neither Carleton, uOttawa or the Football Hall of Fame had any recollection of his whereabouts.
The reputation
The game also became synonymous with partying and drunken students taking over Ottawa city streets. The reputation took a blow in 1987, when a crowd of students pushing towards the field fell through a railing onto concrete below. Thirty-six people were taken to the hospital in an incident that raised calls for the banning of the game.
Despite the incident, the annual tradition would continue for a decade until its conclusion in 1998, when Carleton shut down its football program. In their final decade of existence, the Ravens had won just 13 of 72 games, including losing every game in their final three seasons. The team was failing to generate ticket sales and students voted against an increase in the annual athletics fee. The funding for the football program was no longer enough to keep it afloat.
The return
For 15 years, Carleton went without the sound of crunching football pads. But in 2013, the university revived its football team and with it, the Panda Game. In its first year back, the game was played in front of 4,000 fans at uOttawa. The Gee-Gees took the game 35-10.
Then came the longest Panda winning streak in Carleton history—four straight years, all of them dramatic.
In 2014, Carleton was losing 31-27 with five seconds left to play. Second-string quarterback Jesse Mills stepped onto the field for the first time, 65 yards back of the endzone with any hope of winning seemingly lost. Mills received the snap, fell back into the pocket and hurled a throw down field. A Gee-Gees defender reached for the ball, just tipping it into the hands of Carleton receiver Nate Behar, who took it to the endzone for a game-winning touchdown.
In 2015, Carleton won in double overtime in the highest-ever scoring Panda Game, 48-45. Carleton won a third consecutive Panda game in 2016 by a convincing 20-point margin.
That year also marked the discovery of a lost treasure—Pedro. Ottawa blog Apt613 discovered the stuffed bear in the possession of an “old friend of a prominent Gee-Gees alumni.” The owner remained anonymous, as did the whereabouts of the bear. But a photo proved that Pedro lives on, proudly on display in someone’s personal collection.
Carleton’s most recent win in 2017 was a double overtime thriller that saw the teams locked right to the end before the Ravens pulled away 33-30.
The last four years
Then came 2018, my first year as a Carleton student. Being the eager sports fan I am, I had front row seats to what I hoped would be the five-peat. Instead, a field goal from rookie Campbell Fair sealed the win for uOttawa.
In 2019, Carleton blew a lead and gave up 31 straight points in the second half to lose 32-10. At the time, I couldn’t believe it.
The return of the Panda Game in 2021 after the 2020 game was cancelled due to COVID-19 was glorious. With masks, proof of vaccination and limited stadium capacity, fans were ready to cheer on both teams.
The game was surprisingly tight considering Carleton’s reliance on two third-string quarterbacks, but leading by only one point with one minute left, uOttawa stormed down the field and set up for a field goal. Then, Gee-Gees kicker Fair broke my heart for a second time to secure a 19-17 Gee-Gees victory.
I’ve survived a full undergraduate degree without a Panda Game win—maybe I’ll have to come back next year for a master’s. Regardless, next year’s Panda Game is sure to add the latest enthralling chapter in Canada’s greatest sporting rivalry.
Featured image from file.
