Intensity ramps up for Panda Game
If it was a written test, Jayde Rowe might not yet pass an exam on the history of the Panda Game.
As of Thursday, the running back knew only that the Carleton Ravens had won the past two editions of the annual football showdown against the Ottawa Gee-Gees, the first on a Hail Mary touchdown pass on the last play of the fourth quarter and the second on a field goal in double-overtime, and he knew his teammates regarded it as the second-biggest game of the entire season, behind only the Vanier Cup national championship.
Rowe can be partially forgiven, however, since he’s in his first season with the football Ravens and was far from Ottawa and the Carleton campus when the program was revived in 2013, following a 14-year hiatus from the Ontario University Athletics league.
On the other hand, Tunde Adeleke has been in the middle of the action all that time. He tied a Canadian Interuniversity Sport football record with a 129-yard touchdown return of a missed field goal in the 2013 Panda Game, which the Ravens lost 35-10 before 4,200 at the University of Ottawa stadium.
He was also part of the celebrations on the field at TD Place stadium when they beat the Gee- Gees 33-31 and 48-45.
“We still prepare for it the same as we did every other game. It’s Week 6 (of the season) to us,” the Ravens cornerback/returner said before the last full pre-Panda practice.
“But, as we’re preparing for it, on Twitter, on Facebook, we’re always getting something about Panda Game this week. People on campus talk to you about Panda Game. It’s like your normal preparation, but it’s (also) a lot of outside noise. We try to prevent getting too into that and to keep doing what we normally do.”
Ahhhhhh, except that Ravens head coach Steve Sumarah says he can notice a difference in the players during the buildup to the Panda Game.
“I think the reality of this game is we could play it Game 1 or Game 8. It just has a different feel to it,” Sumarah said.
“Even within the team, you can sense that more guys watch film this week, there’s more energy at practice. It just has an absolute different feel.
“So I joke with the guys (that) we need eight Panda Games a season to practise and play at this kind of intensity.”
Another reality of the situation is that the Ravens could definitely use a victory to solidify their OUA standing and playoff possibilities. After victories against Western, Toronto and York and defeats against McMaster and Laurier, they’re in fifth place at 3-2 and have only three games left: the Panda Game, another home game against the Windsor Lancers (1-3) and a road game against the Waterloo Warriors (0-5).
The top six will qualify for the playoffs after the regular season ends Oct. 22.
The Ravens will definitely be favoured against the Lancers and Warriors, but the Gee-Gees are tied for first place with the Laurier Golden Hawks at 4-0.
The next stage is the Panda Game, and it should be memorable.
Sumarah said he was told Thursday that more than 21,000 tickets had been sold or consigned for the contest at 24,000-seat TD Place stadium and there were none to be had on the Carleton campus.