Sumi wows the crowds at UBC

Scared the heck out of me this morning when a little girl ran shrieking past me outside the Thunderbird Stadium at UBC. But it turned out she was just a giddy groupie rushing to hug her 2010 Paralympics mascot hero,  Sumi.

There weren’t any line-ups to get into the Canada vs. Italy sledge hockey game (just a steady stream of human traffic), but there was a big crowd lined up behind a blue rope for a chance to pose with the black bear/thunderbird/orca whale hybrid.

I admit: I’ve been worried that I might have exhausted my supply of Olympic spirit during February’s party. So I was a little surprised by the wave of sentiment that washed over me as I watched hordes of red-dressed kids cheering “Go Canada Go!” and waving their maple leaf flags as they waited to embrace a creature as real to them as their parents.

Seems love is all around. Again.