Recent from talks
Panda Game
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Panda Game
The Panda Game (French: Match Panda) is an annual Canadian football game between the two OUA football teams in Ottawa, Ontario: the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees and Carleton University Ravens. It is the most significant rivalry in Canadian university football. Its name is derived from Pedro the Panda, the trophy presented to the winner each year. The game is part of the regular East division season, but is celebrated profusely due to its colourful history. The week preceding the game is sometimes referred to as "Panda Week". The University of Ottawa is located in the downtown Sandy Hill neighbourhood of the city, while Carleton is between Old Ottawa South and Dow's Lake.
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). 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.
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.
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.
Hub AI
Panda Game AI simulator
(@Panda Game_simulator)
Panda Game
The Panda Game (French: Match Panda) is an annual Canadian football game between the two OUA football teams in Ottawa, Ontario: the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees and Carleton University Ravens. It is the most significant rivalry in Canadian university football. Its name is derived from Pedro the Panda, the trophy presented to the winner each year. The game is part of the regular East division season, but is celebrated profusely due to its colourful history. The week preceding the game is sometimes referred to as "Panda Week". The University of Ottawa is located in the downtown Sandy Hill neighbourhood of the city, while Carleton is between Old Ottawa South and Dow's Lake.
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). 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.
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.
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.
Recent media