I had to cover the Panda Game in Ottawa as part of a class assignment. Apart from having attended a football game in Berlin between Bayern München and Hertha BSC at the Olympiastadion in Berlin out of curiosity five years prior, I had not been to a competitive sports game in my life – let alone cover one.
Press box at TD Place Stadium 
Press box at TD Place Stadium
That’s how I went to my first ever American football game. I didn’t know what the rules were, I didn’t know who the players were, and I had no idea what to look out for. I probably looked lost and out of place. I was wearing a pink button-up shirt to look professional and cargo pants to store my recording equipment wires in. I tried my best to look as neutral as possible until I realized my press pass was issued by the university newspaper and had our logo on the lanyard. Here I was, a rookie looking up the rules of the game in the press box trying to understand what’s going on.
It’s drizzling, then it’s not, then it drizzles again. Two large crowds start forming an hour before the gates open at TD Place Stadium. Gee-Gees fans in garnet and grey spill out from a dozen charter buses at Aberdeen Pavilion while Ravens supporters in red and black step off public buses from Bank Street. Some come in ponchos, others field umbrellas matching their team colours. Those waiting for friends take shelter under shop awnings.
The ornate Victorian Aberdeen Pavilion stands in stark contrast to the practical postmodernist stadium. Thousands of spectators file themselves into vague queues waiting to enter. A sea of red swarms over to the south stand via gates one and two as a wave of garnet flows towards the north stand via gates three and four. Everybody knows their place – they’ve known for over half a century.
The historic rivalry of the Panda Game between Carleton University’s Ravens and the University of Ottawa’s Gee-Gees goes back to 1955 – one of the oldest inter-university rivalries in the country. It’s named after the stuffed Panda trophy, which an enterprising uOttawa student convinced a local jeweller to donate. The game was cancelled last year due to COVID-19, the first time it’s been interrupted since 1999. In 2019, a record 24,600 people attended, three times more than the number of spectators at the Vanier Cup that year. However, the stadium is only allowed to sell 15,000 tickets due to the unrelenting pandemic.
Everyone was raring to go in to support their team. Each side hoped the other would lose. Hugh Russell doesn’t go to Carleton, but he’s “bird gang” because a bunch of his friends study at Carleton. Wearing black and red face paint on both cheeks, his appearance exudes confidence in the Ravens.
“Ravens are gonna win. Hands down. Fuck you Gee-Gees, you guys are fucked!” Hugh trumpeted. “I’m a little upset the LC[BO] denied me, but other than that, I feel great.”
His “bunch” of friends, which turned out to be a gang of 10 other teens, gathered in front of the stadium to take a photo before they entered. They’re all in ripped blue jeansmatching team shirts and a backwards black baseball cap except Hugh, who donned a large black Stetson. One of them tears his jacket open to make sure the Ravens logo on his red t-shirt is visible.
It doesn’t take much for either side to burst into a roaring cheer. Anyone who isn’t already drunk is either on their way to drunkenness or has so much beer spilled on them that they smell drunk anyways. Any mention of either team or a player’s name elicits a thundering response. Any individual starting a chant becomes a catalyst for thousands to follow their rally cry.
“Let’s go, Gee-Gees!” the north stand clapped. “Fuck you Carleton U!”
“Let’s go, Ravens!” the south stand reciprocated. “Fuck you Ottawa U!”
The Ravens led the Gee-Gees 7-2 after the first quarter. Carleton had a winning streak in 2014-2017, but uOttawa won the last two games. By halftime, the Gee-Gees are leading 12-7, and the rain is picking up. Empty pizza boxes lay soaked on the floor, and used tissues dissolve in dirty puddles. Fans don’t care if they’re wet; they just want to be there. In fact, fans don’t seem to care much about anything other than the game; most of them flaunt the mask rules the stadium imposed. Hugh and his friends sat maskless right on the sideline out of the canopy’s protection. He predicted a 49-42 score with a Ravens win.
“I’ve never seen a better team in my life!” Hugh yelled as the third quarter started.
“Heyo, Ottawa U, I’d hate to be you on a day like today,” Hugh added. “Because the birds are chirpin’, and I’m a fuckin’ Raven.”
The Gee-Gees scored a field goal during the third quarter and still led 15-7. The cheers from uOttawa students grew longer and louder with each successive score, but that didn’t stop a Carleton student from showing team spirit by dashing half-naked across the field. A security guard quickly sprinted after him, but the student made it to the other side before being taken away by two more staff.
Perhaps the daring act motivated Carleton athletes to push harder. With only six minutes to go, the Gee-Gees only led 16-14. Two minutes later, the Ravens bagged a field goal, edging ahead by just one point. But, unfortunately, Carleton couldn’t claim victory. With just 60 seconds left on the clock, number 19, Campbell Fair, lined his foot up to the ball at the 30-yard line and launched it into the air. The crowds fell silent for a second, then a tide of garnet and grey on the north stand erupted into a cheer as the ball soared through the bright yellow upright.
“It’s definitely the biggest moment of my career,” said the 6’1” Gee-Gees kicker. He showed off his bright white teeth to the press in a wide grin. “It worked out.”
A reporter with a heavy Quebec accent asked Campbell what he thought of Justin Tucker’s record-breaking 66-yard field goal at the NFL last week.
“It was motivating. I tried a couple days later from 66 but could not get it,” he laughed.
It didn’t matter to him. He felt great. He just won the game for his team 19-17.
Both stands rapidly emptied after the match as students flooded onto the field. Some with tears of joy and others with tears of defeat. While the Gee-Gees dance with their elated fans on the 50-yard line, the Ravens sulk their way back into the tunnel. Hugh and his friends went to the LCBO to try their luck a second time.
