Just a few minutes before 2001 turns into 2002, a local dignitary will take the Olympic torch on Chippewa Street, running straight toward one of the best photo opportunities ever in Western New York.
The torchbearer -- expected to be heavyweight boxer Joe Mesi -- will turn right onto Main Street, toward a crowd of maybe 40,000 or 50,000 New Year's revelers, their patriotic chants ringing in his ears.
Clad in a white Olympic torchbearer's uniform, Mesi will turn left on Genesee Street, running through thousands of people, before climbing a stage near the Niagara Mohawk building, raising the flame and triggering the 2002 countdown and the midnight ball drop.
"I think you're going to see patriotism like you've never seen before," said Jim Nowicki, a liaison between the City of Buffalo and the Salt Lake Olympic Committee. "I can hear them right now, chanting 'U.S.A., U.S.A.' as the torch goes by, especially because of what this country is going through right now."
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That's how 2001, one of the toughest years in our nation's recent history, will end, on a makeshift stage in downtown Buffalo, with the Olympic torch, hundreds of American flags and the ball drop teaming up for a true Kodak moment.
"There's going to be a lot of emotion, and there are going to be tears of joy," Nowicki said. "I think the tears will be flooding the ball drop."
Local Olympic organizers Friday released details of the local 26-mile route for the 2002 Olympic torch, which will arrive by convoy in Clarence at about 5:30 p.m. Dec. 31. It will be driven to Glen Campbell Chevrolet on Transit Road, where the first of about 75 local torchbearers will start running with the flame at 6 p.m.
The torch will continue through Amherst, the Town of Tonawanda, Kenmore and Buffalo, joining the First Night Buffalo celebration at Hoyt Lake at about 9:10 p.m., before heading downtown for the midnight ball drop.
Following an overnight stay, the torch will leave City Hall around 7 a.m. Jan. 1, meandering up Delaware Avenue and then moving into East Side neighborhoods. Torchbearers will carry it until about 8:30 a.m., when a convoy will take it onto the Thruway, headed for Erie, Pa., and Cleveland.
With little more than a week to go, local officials hope hundreds of thousands of Western New Yorkers will line up five and 10 deep for a glimpse of the flame.
"We want as many people as possible to come out, line the routes the torchbearers will travel and show the country that Buffalo has tremendous Olympic spirit and great patriotism," said Mayor Anthony M. Masiello. "This two-day Olympic treat for our community should not be missed. I encourage everyone to bring their families out and be a part of this historic event."
The story of the Olympic torch's 15-hour stay here includes a lot of persuasion -- even a bit of arm-twisting -- to allow the torch to stay up so late on New Year's Eve.
The Olympic torch has a tough daily grind, averaging 208 miles a day as it winds through 250 U.S. cities and 46 states on its way to light the Olympic caldron in Salt Lake City. Each evening, shortly after dinner time, it goes to bed for the night.
Except in Buffalo, where local organizers apparently convinced Olympic officials of the possibilities for national and international coverage as the clock nears midnight.
"We want to showcase Buffalo," said Nowicki, the city's deputy parks commissioner. "We want to outdo Dick Clark on New Year's Eve."
Chance to showcase city
Buffalo had two huge factors in its favor: its support for the torch run through Buffalo in 1996 and the enthusiasm of local organizers, including the mayor's office, the United Way of Buffalo & Erie County, and publicity adviser Michael J. Billoni.
"This is our chance to showcase Buffalo, to showcase our mansions along Delaware Avenue, our architectural beauty, the Elmwood strip, Chippewa Street and downtown Buffalo," Nowicki said. "It took some arm-twisting, but they bought into it."
Tens of thousands of Western New Yorkers, waving American flags and clapping and whistling, came out for a glimpse of the torch in 1996, the day former Sabres star Pat LaFontaine carried it through Niagara Square.
"There were people standing on top of cars, in trees, on top of mailboxes and hanging out windows to see the torch," Nowicki remembered. "It was an awesome sight."
'Wave of patriotism'
The local torchbearers have been chosen because they've given so much back to the community in their volunteer efforts. They include cancer survivors, people who have battled disabilities, a woman running for a young cancer patient, an almost 92-year-old man and a sprinter who made the U.S. team for the 1940 Olympics, which never took place.
Nowicki and Billoni both carried the torch in 1996.
Billoni, who still was recovering from a very serious bicycle accident, almost caused an international incident when he veered slightly from the torch route in Kenmore to kiss his mother, sitting in a wheelchair.
"The minute I touched that torch, the hugest wave of patriotism and spiritualism came over me," he said. "It has remained with me since."
Nowicki, who carried the torch on Elmwood Avenue, called it the most emotional experience of his life.
"I was on a cloud," he said. "I can still picture the faces. I can still picture people waving the American flag. I can still remember people trying to touch the torch. I couldn't believe it was happening. I couldn't believe it was me."
