If you happen to be a Carleton University or University of Ottawa alumni, it is time to dig your school spirit gear out from the back of your closet. Distinguish yourself as a Gee-Gee or a Raven. Ignite your collegial pride. Grab a ticket to join tens of thousands of students at TD Place. Indeed, on Sunday, October 6th, Carleton and U of O’s age-old rivalry will manifest in an sporting event that has remained a Canadian classic for half of a century: the Panda Game.
The Panda Game is the biggest university sporting event in Canada and a longstanding tradition in Ottawa. The game itself is simply a matchup between Ottawa’s two premier universities, but the game has become massively popular because of the rivalry it represents, the traditions that surround it, and the bizarre history that precedes it.
The Panda Game began in 1955 and has been played almost annually since then, save for a 15-year span from 1998-2013 where Carelton cut its football program. The famous match is named for a stuffed panda bear named “Pedro” that U of O students commissioned in 1955 to be the mascot for the Gee-Gees.
Unbeknownst to U of O’s student body at the time, Pedro the Panda was created with the sole purpose of fanning the flames of school rivalry with Carleton. Pedro was (and still is) the designated object of “panda-napping,” a ritual in which the stuffed bear is stolen back and forth between Carleton and U of O, often through elaborate heist-style pranks in the weeks leading up to the Panda Game. The original Pedro, after enduring many instances of kidnappings, hostage situations, and even a trans-national tour from Dalhousie’s campus all the way to the University of British Columbia, was replaced in 1979 and again in 2013 by more durable bronze statues that bear his likeness.
Today, Pedro is an icon representing the fierce rivalry between Ottawa’s two universities and lends his name to the Panda Game—but the traditions do not end with the bear. The week leading up to the match is a tradition in itself, packed with pranks, parties, performances and general pandamonium. U of O hosts an official “PandaFest” on the morning of the game with food, music, games, and shuttles to TD Place, while unofficial tailgates and block parties ensue before and after the game. The Panda Game is a tradition that bolsters school spirit and allows students in Ottawa to kick back and relax before a busy semester begins.
Out of 54 Panda Games, U of O has won 37 times and Carleton has won 17 times. U of O has won 5 consecutive Panda games since 2018 (there was no game in 2020) and will defend their winning streak this autumn.
Sadly, the Panda Game has not gone without its share of controversy. In the early years of the tradition, what was intended to be good-spirited competition went sour when rivalry-driven break-ins, fights, and vandalisms became commonplace on both campuses. The animosity was amplified to such a degree that by the mid-1960s, the week leading up to the game was dubbed by students as “Hate Week.” By the 1980s, the match’s reputation as a weekend-long drunken college party eclipsed its reputation as a football game, and in 1987, tragedy struck when a tightly-packed stand of Ravens fans leaned against a railing, sending it and thirty people falling 16 feet onto cement below. Although no deaths occurred as a result of this accident, it cast a sobering shadow over the already controversial game. In 1998, the Panda Game ended—seemingly forever—when Carleton canceled its football program.
Certainly most recent in Ottawa citizens’ minds are the rowdy block parties that followed the 2021 Panda Game, in which students flooded the Sandy Hill area, flipped a vehicle on Russell Avenue, pillaged street signs, and sent seven people to the hospital. As a result, the next two annual Panda Games involved heavy police patrol on the Sandy Hill blocks to manage partygoers and campaigns from both universities urging their students to celebrate the Panda Game safely and non-destructively. These preventative measures proved fruitful: no significant incidents of public mischief occurred after 2021’s out-of-control after party.
The Panda Game traces its origins to one of Canadian University Sports’ greatest rivalries—a rivalry that, for the most part, has remained healthy, giving students a chance to taunt their athletic adversaries in good spirits. Although its history has plenty of rough patches, the energy the Panda Game brings to Ottawa is undeniable. It is a classic Canadian tradition that is hopefully here to stay. Join the fun and celebrate the 55th annual Panda Game, happening on October 6th at TD Place.
PHOTO: Instagram #OttawaPandaGame