An avatar of Terry Fox? Wayne Gretzky? Pam Anderson? Who will light the torch?

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

The way Los Angeles obsesses over the Academy Awards is the way the Canadians are obsessing over Friday night’s opening ceremonies. The biggest topic, as always during these things, is who will light the torch.

Wayne Gretzky‘s name is being tossed around a lot, but most of the talk involves the late cancer hero Terry Fox to some sort of avatar of Fox that would be visible to home audiences but not to fans in the stadium who paid upward of $1,000 – and much more – to attend.

Here are the odds I’m giving on the torch lighter, based on buzz around town:

Some sort of digital version of Terry Fox: 3-2
Fox’s mother, Betty: 10-1
Gretzky: 15-1
Michael J. Fox: 50-1
Orca the whale: 100-1
Pamela Anderson: 200-1
Some sort of digital version of Pamela Anderson: 500-1
Former first lady Margaret Trudeau: 1,000-1
Celine Dion: 5 million-1

Here are things you can count on for sure: Bryan Adams and Sarah McLachlan will perform, as will Dion, in what is sure to be the most melodramatic moment in the history of humankind. Hopefully, she won’t sing about sinking ships.

Totem poles will play a part in the spectacle – you might want to send the kids out of the room for that one.

-- Chris Erskine in Vancouver