From the mic to the torchbearer
Olympic Torch relay runner Murray Collins poses during an early morning jog earlier this week. Collins is preparing for his leg of the torch relay today.
Email
Print
Letter to Editor
Share
Updated: October 28, 2009 4:42 PM
There are not many events that happen to you that can truly be called the highlight of your life.
Former broadcaster Murray Collins thinks his could happen today.
Last week, Collins let out a full-bodied laugh as he described the moment he learned he would bear the Olympic torch through Esquimalt,
“My heart raced, I got so excited, and thought ‘No, this can’t be happening, they don’t just choose ordinary people like me.’ I phoned everybody -- all my friends, my kids -- I don’t think I left anybody out.”
The 59-year-old said the news surprised him. He found out he’d been accepted Sept. 8, not too long after he filed out an application.
“I thought, ‘Hey this sounds like a good idea. What if, eh?’” Collins recalled.
Later, he was checking e-mails when he came across the good news.
“I was going through all that spam, then all of a sudden, ‘Congrats’ (came up).”
Since then, Collins has been counting down the days until today (Oct. 30). He was scheduled to carry the flame at 11:22 a.m.
While speaking to the News last week he said, “I dream about (carrying the torch) every day. I’m really getting hyped. If I only live to be 60, I couldn’t ask for anything better to remember. This will be something to never forget.”
Collins hasn’t always been completely on board with the Olympics. Before being selected as a torchbearer, he said he didn’t understand how the government could spend so much money on an event when poverty and homelessness are so prevalent in B.C. He even considered taking part in protest rallies.
But now his opinion has changed. He can see the social benefits the Games will bring, citing a sense of togetherness among Canadians.
As he imagined standing on Esquimalt Road, watching the torch approach him, Collins’ speech quickened.
“When I see it in the distance, coming my way, and I know I’m next in line, I’m going to freak. I’m going to be so pumped.”
Collins saved up and pre-paid for the torch he will carry, the torch that will bear the Olympic flame. He plans to bring it to elementary schools around Greater Victoria to show young kids in hopes the torch will inspire them as it has him.
ecardone@vicnews.com
