Once a year, it feels like Christmas on the Carleton and University of Ottawa (U of O) campuses. Across the city, students wake up early, tear open packages labelled “LCBO”, and come together and rejoice for this event, which happens once a year. Panda Game.
The game has developed into an opportunity for large numbers of students to party. Hard. And while the game brings a lot of hype towards university football, not everyone is a fan.
In particular, some spectators, employees at TD Place Stadium and residents in the area don’t necessarily enjoy the atmosphere of the event and expressed concerns about the situation and suggest changes for next year.
Second-year Carleton student, Brayden MacKay, attended this year’s match and says because people are attending the game for different reasons, it can create a complicated environment.
“Being able to go out with friends and enjoy a football game, for instance, is the perfect opportunity to get your drink on and party hard, but not everyone attending has the same idea,” said MacKay.
“Most people who don’t share the same enthusiasm towards a sporting event, or are simply trying to have a relaxing day off, may get very annoyed, and understandably so.”
Being engulfed by intoxicated students can make it difficult to focus on what’s going on down on the field. This affects not just any diehard fans, but also the workers at the venue.
Sophie Bernard, a second-year Carleton student, who just started working at TD Place, explained her shift at this year’s Panda Game was a frustrating experience.
“I work in the box office so we deal with ticket issues. Put that with drunk university students and you have a really wild and stressful shift,” said Bernard.
“I’m just glad I was behind glass, because I had a drunk student tell me that ‘[the box office] is a f****** joke’ because we didn’t have his tickets, even though they were at a table about 200 metres away. ”
In another incident, Bernard said her employer had to take action against an intoxicated student, when her workplace was becoming a dangerous environment.
“Some others were really frustrated when we couldn’t do anything about their misplaced or rain-ruined tickets. This was to the point that my employer had to slam the door behind me as I left my shift, as a drunk girl was trying to fight workers,” said Bernard.
“Trust me, I love the game, I love the hype it creates amongst students, but the people who drink to the point of potentially endangering others just for a football game? I’m definitely not a fan of that.”
The issues don’t stop at the walls of TD Place.
With attendance levels hitting over 24,000, the problematic situation can eventually steamroll onto the streets of Ottawa and cause problems for those who live in the local neighbourhood.
“Having a huge group of drunk students in one place can be quite disruptive for anyone not taking part, including older people that may be attending the game,” said MacKay.
“In some cases, people that aren’t even watching the game get their nearby properties destroyed by mobs of partying kids. Definitely not something they look forward to every October.”
William Smith, a local resident in the Glebe was walking his dog about an hour before kickoff and said the rowdiness of the crowds isn’t the biggest issue for him. Rather, it is the aftermath of Panda Game that made him decide he would not be attending games in the future.
“It was almost atrocious how the intoxicated people acted in the Panda Game… [and the problem] it was the mess that they caused and the smell that protruded from them, the vomit, the over retching smell of shunk [marijuana], liquor, and whatever other s*** they consumed,” ” explained Smith.
“Overall, with the mess they caused and discomfort brought upon, especially [by those] under the influence, made it very unenjoyable and I will not return next year.”
Looking ahead, some attendees noted how with an event of this stature, it can understandably be hard to control a crowd of this size and thus suggest adding protective measures could ensure every spectator enjoys the annual game.
“I think drunk people at the Panda games are expected and TD Place should be ready for it,” said Damian Smith, a first year student at Carleton.
“If they don’t want any drunk people, they should use a breathalyzer for each person that enters the stadium.”
Feature image by Sarah Rosario.
