VANCOUVER 2010 WINTER OLYMPICS | THE LOOK OF THE GAMES :: THE MASCOTS ::: “MEET THE MASCOTS LIVE ON ICE” > KIDS OF ALL AGES GO BERSERK!

Take a look at the girl above. She is having an epiphany of sorts. She’s positively enraptured by Sumi’s embrace.

There are two Olympic memories that I will cherish: Vancouverites taking to their streets after winning the gold medal in hockey, and “Meet the Mascots Live on Ice” at Robson Square.

I hadn’t seen any of the life-size mascots wandering around my neck of the woods, so I headed down to the ice rink at Robson Square two days before the games finished. I’m glad I did.

The rink was packed with screaming mascot fans of all ages.

The show’s production was superb, with increasingly excitable music and narration telling us about the lives of Sumi, Quatchi, and Miga (the YouTube videos below don’t do justice to the whole thing; you had to be there!).

After the show, the three mascots went around and around the edges of the rink embracing their fans. They were very generous with their time; lots and lots of kids of all ages got a hug (I was so busy photographing the mayhem that I didn’t get one. Oh well.)

That Quatchi fella seems to have the most fans. Poor Mukmuk didn’t make an appearance (something about child labour laws in Canada — Mukmuk’s small and he’d have to have a very small person inside, which I guess precluded him from being part of the on-ice action).

Anyway, the spectators went wild. I went wild. It was a fantastic feeling to be six years old again. It was an Olympic moment that I’ll never forget. Thanks, Quatchi, Miga, and Sumi for making me see things through the eyes of a child again!

A lone Mukmuk in a sea of mascots:

THE VANCOUVER 2010 WINTER OLYMPIC SUITE