Some 12,500 flocked to TD Place Saturday afternoon for the annual panda football game between the University of Ottawa and Carleton University.
The two teams haven’t played each other at Lansdowne Park since 1998, the year Carleton announced the cancellation of its football program.
The first panda game was played at Lansdowne Park in 1955.
The historic rivalry has its foundations in a stuffed panda named “Pedro.”
Pedro was a target for the competing teams, getting kidnapped a few times throughout the years, before being replaced by a copper replica.
The panda game was officially revived last year, when the two schools faced each other for the first time in 15 years. They played at the Gee-Gees field, with uOttawa winning.
This year, the Carleton Ravens take the bragging rights, after defeating the Gee-Gees 33-31 with a last-minute Hail Mary win.
