Rivalry games often take sports to another level, both for athletes and for fans. It becomes more than just a win or loss—it becomes a matter of team pride.The players all know the importance of the rivalry game, and the atmosphere in the crowd often produces amazing things.
One of these unforgettable moments happened in the Panda Game on Sept. 20, in what will be enshrined forever as one of the most amazing football games in Canadian history.
Trailing, and down to their final play of the game, the Carleton Ravens football team completed a last-second Hail Mary pass to win city bragging rights over the University of Ottawa (U of O) Gee-Gees in a 33-31 victory.
But the Carleton-U of O rivalry is present in more than just football—you can be certain it’s the game most athletes will circle on their calendars for the season.
In fact, the Ravens-Gee-Gees rivalry is actually the best rivalry in Canadian university sports.
For one, the proximity of both campuses being about 10 minutes away from each other means most players know the cross-town competition quite well.
While basic geography is certainly important to build a rivalry, it’s not the only thing. An even more significant reason why Carleton and U of O may be the best university sports rivalry in the country is the sheer amount of team competitions that take place between the schools.
Everyone knows about the Panda Game, along with Capital Hoops for men’s and women’s basketball, but they might not know the scope of how many Ravens and Gee-Gees sports meetings there are in a calendar year.
Several of Carleton’s varsity sports have at least one regular season meeting against their cross-town foes.
But the thing that makes the nation’s capital university sports rivalry so thrilling is the sheer unpredictability of the games. The women’s soccer team broke the Ottawa curse in 2014, beating the Gee-Gees for the first time in team history.
In the provincial men’s basketball final, the Gee-Gees took home the title over their cross-town rivals shocking an undefeated Ravens side on a buzzer-beater.
While all of these are terrific stories, it’s safe to say the sheer shock of a successful Hail Mary is enough to put the 2014 Panda Game right at the top of the other impressive rivalry games in recent memory.
Having a multi-sport rivalry is paramount to building a genuine dislike between both schools. And just as important as that bad blood to boil, the respect must be earned by both sides to christen the rivalry into something that transcends sports—into something where school pride is on the line.
Thanks to their improbable Hail Mary, the Ravens have certainly earned the respect from the Gee-Gees as a legitimate foe on the gridiron going forward.
It’s hard to imagine anything topping a game-winning, last-second, tipped touchdown catch for Carleton’s first Panda Game win in 20 years.
But if there’s one thing the surging Ravens-Gee-Gees rivalry has demonstrated to us, it’s to expect the impossible.
