Torchfever

So last Thursday, the glorious Olympic torch came to town! And thanks to VANOC organizers, the torch route went right through my neighbourhood!

But even more exciting, a Grade 12 student at my high school was a torchbearer along the route not too far down from our school. A lot of us went down there to cheer him on. Even a ton of teachers came too. It actually was a really big deal for all of us!

To see the Olympic flame on TV is one thing, but to see it in person is quite another. It was about 4 in the afternoon when our torchbearer came out along with the rest of the torchbearers along that particular stretch. Everyone was so excited. We were taking pictures, waving flags...it was true Canadian pride at work.

And then we made our way out to where Imad (our torchbearer) was supposed to begin his run. After more picture taking, the police cars and torch motorcade started coming down the road. Everyone was jumpy and restless. And then came the flame. I got goosebumps watching the exchange, and it wasn't from the cold either.

The most exciting part of the day was actually running alongside Imad as he jogged his 300 metres. It was quite epic to see the 50 or so supporters that came out, all running alongside him. As I was running, I was thinking to myself: This is soooo cool!!

So after about a minute or two, Imad finished his run. He passed the flame on to the next torchbearer. And all of us just stood there in awe, not able to stop ourselves from smiling and cheering. This experience was just so awesome for everybody. I mean, when's the next time any of us will be able to run alongside the Olympic flame?

-D