The Torch

So, I'm not going to talk about the torch malfunction, though I feel really badly for Catriona LeMay Doan who was left standing there with nothing to light.  I do want to talk about the outdoor location for the Torch, which Wayne Gretzky lit after the ceremonies at BC Place.

It turns out that this is right outside the IBC (and very nearly directly over my head, as NBC occupies the section of the IBC lower level that is under this position).

And, as it turns out, we (who work in the IBC) can actually walk outside right up to the Torch (in fact we can we can even stand right underneath the flame, and you can really feel the heat).

The general public can view the flame through a fence from about 150 feet away.  Every time I go out to look at the Torch, I have people on the other side yelling at me asking how I got in there. 

During the day there are thousands of people who are crowding the streets outside just to get a glimpse of the flame.  Even when I go home at 3am, there are still a few people pressed up against the fence.  How cool is it that I can walk right up to it and touch it!