Olympic Flame Is Burning

In just 74 days (at the time of posting) the Olympic flame will be lit in Vancouver and the world will watch as amateur athletes (and some pro ones - looking at you hockey) take centre stage for two weeks.

Before the Olympics start one of the best traditions in sport is that the Olympic flame is lit in Greece and then makes the trek to whatever country is hosting. From ground zero, the "official torch relay" begins. The host country will organize a run across the country to promote the games and get to get everyone involved. Make them feel special. This is happening in Canada right now...

The torch has been to the northern most points in the Yukon, all the way East to PEI and Nova Scotia and is now making its way back West to Vancouver for the start of the Olympics in February.

This is where the torch relay gets interesting. Currently, it is going through Quebec. The torch path is lined with locals trying to get a quick glimpse of the flame and every one in the crowd is waving - Canada flags?

That is right, the province that is constantly trying to be its own boss, implement its own laws and even wants to enter its own athletes in the Olympics, has people waving Canadian flags, instead of the fleur de lys. Now I am not saying that some Quebecois aren't patriotic, but there are a good number of Quebecois that would rather separate from Canada, and have made no secret about it during the past 20 years.

Even though a significant portion of the population is anti-Canadian, the organizers of the relay have treated them the same as the rest of Canada leading up to the most patriotic of events - the Olympics. I am pretty sure the rest of Canada would appreciate seeing more of the torch.

Nothing brings a country together like the Olympics and maybe the torch relay going through Quebec will allow people realize that it isn't that bad being attached to the rest of Canada.