Chills. I got chills. Goosebumpy, adrenaline in my blood, chills.

Now you need to know that I got that feeling after watching the Karate Kid, so I’m easily inspired, but the simple sight of a flame burning high atop the Calgary Tower this afternoon was enough to get me going.

I’m an Olympic addict.

The patriotism, the athleticism, the inspiration, the creativity, the artistry, the community, the spirit, the passion. It’s addicting.

I’ll sit and watch 4 hours of Cross Country Skiing coverage every 4 years just to seek out the one story of one athlete going beyond their personal boundary just because there’s a flag on their back and a flame at the venue.

I even bought my new home in Calgary in a community called Cougar Ridge, a mere kilometre from Canada Olympic Park, home to the ski jumping and sliding events at the ‘88 Games.

As host to the 1988 Games, Calgary knows what the Olympics are about. And this week, as the torch arrived back in the city, the entire town seems to be giddy for the Games. The largest ever crowd on the torch relay packed into the Olympic Plaza tonight, a place where 22 years earlier athletes received their medals. Tonight it was to receive the flame.

Calgary’s hockey team is called “The Flames” because that was the team’s name before it moved to Calgary from Atlanta. After seeing the way the city embraced the torch today, there’s an entirely local reason to call them The Flames.

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