Originally Published Oct. 16, 1980
Why laud a stinky ugly teddy? Well he’s helped us look beyond the realms of the football field or the local bar. The stuffed bear is a symbol which has allowed students to display school pride, something few will publicly admit they have. The little guy has brought two schools closer in his own strange way. Pedro is a living history lesson and here is his story:
Panda game is thought of as the culmination of a long fought rivalry between Ottawa and Carleton universities. Actually, it started as a publicity scheme to boost attendance at the Ravens-Gee-Gees Thanksgiving Day game of October 10 1955.
The brains behind the sham was Brian McA’Nulty, the SFUO’s publicity director, who, after meeting with Carleton frosh week representatives, decided the game needed more press coverage.
McA’Nulty rounded up an unusual trophy, a three foot panda, from local businessman Jack Snow, who displayed the new mascot in the window of his jewelry shop on Sparks Street.
The panda was christened Pedro after a late night fight with common sense at the local watering hole, the Albion Hotel. MaC’Nulty and his cohorts then executed the first daring noon-hour pandanapping and got the publicity ball rolling.
The tricky U of O team snatched the bear from its Sparks street perch and their schoolmates, thinking it was a dirty Carleton deed, were enraged. SFUO President, Peter Tanuay, in a statement prepared by his enterprising publicity agent, lashed out at the Ravens for resorting to “one of the dirtiest tricks” he had ever seen.
The Ravens’ “denial”, also prepared by MaC’Nulty, insulted the Gee-Gees mascot by saying “A scaley old stuffed bear? We wouldn’t be found dead with it.”
Pedro became the symbol of honour which the Garnet and Grey would defend. The Fulcrum pre-Panda issue of October 1955 read: “So let’s not go out and die for old Varsity; let’s go out and kill for old Pedro.”
When plans to drop Pedro from a helicopter failed to materialize, he made a daring parachute leap from the roof of the Lansdowne Park Grandstand. Thousands looked on as the Carleton cheerleaders carried him away and a tradition was born.
In 1957, at the tender age of two, Pedro ran for president of Carleton Student council. A year later, tired of making the rough transition from Carleton to Ottawa U., the black and white Ambassador of Good Will embarked on a grand tour of North American universities. The globe-trotting teddy visited Mcgill, Université de Montréal, Bishop’s, Queen’s, Dalhousie, Western, Alabama State and God knows where else until he was discovered, exhausted and penniless, by his custodian, Marcel Prud’homme, at UBC and brought back home to a tearful reunion at the swanky Albion.
Having been the property of the Gee-Gees for seven consecutive years, Pedro was very much in demand by Ravens’ fans in 1964. He watched the game and massive halftime riot from the confines of an armoured truck. Over-exuberant Carletonites, overcome by the combination of the joy of victory and a over-indulgence in alcohol, overturned and burned a Volkswagen driven by an unassuming U of O student, Robin Conway. His passenger, an equally helpless Paul Gaffney, had both ankles broken in the incident.
During the rebellious 60’s, the U of O-Carleton rivalry was in full swing. Vigilante groups performed daring commando-like raids in search of Pedro. Thousands of dollars in damage to school property resulted. Administration threatened to cancel the annual challenge match. Our terrified teenage teddy found it necesssary to seek exile, buried beneath a football field, for an entire year.
As time went on, the game took a backseat to the festivities. In the 70’s, largely due to stepped-up security measures, the aging Pedro limited himself to being the victim of countless pandanappings, beer showers and other crass indignities occasioned by school spirit.
Last year, shortly before his silver anniversary, the ragged Panda mysteriously appeared at La Rotonde. After overseeing another Gee-Gees victory, he made his final appearance at Lansdowne Park. Pedro’s 25 year reign came to an end as he was crated up and sent to the Canadian Football Hall Of Fame in Hamilton. The eulogy was washed away in the storm of protest over the Fulcrum’s bare breast cover photo.
A bronze replica has taken Pedro’s place. A shiny hunk of metal replaces our symbolic, tattered teddy. The 80’s have slapped the romantics in the face.
How can we enjoy this year’s Panda Game knowing that the weary, pot-bellied, droopy-eared prize will sit out his first game in a quarter of a century?
Pedro sits alone, helpless, in a darkened room far away from his home. His sad eyes beg us to let him attend one last game, just one last victory celebration. But the please go unanswered.
As the opening whistle blows and the pigskin fliles, a rotting 26 year old stuffed panda with bad breath and BO will suffer the most brutal injury of his hectic career, a broken heart.
A single devastating tear will fall from his ailing eye, run off his mutilated cheek and soak onto his beer-stained chest with a million other memories. Perdro is history. Unless we pandanap him one last time…
Facts about this article:
- André Picard‘s journalism career began at the Fulcrum where he would go on to serve as EIC from 1982-83.
- Picard is the health columnist for the Globe and Mail, where he has worked for 36 years.
- Picard said he became a journalist “To provide Canadians with information to improve their health and their lives, and to promote better policy choices by decision-makers.“
