TORONTO – On Wednesday afternoon, ESPN NBA analyst Bruce Bowen proudly represented the company and honored athletes across the Americas as he participated in the Pan Am Games Torch Relay in Toronto. A team of torchbearers carried the flame throughout city neighborhoods down towards a community celebration in Mel Lastman Square to recognize the upcoming 2015 Pan American Games.
“I was so excited to be invited to take part in this event,” said Bowen. “It’s quite an honor to be part of something where so many countries are coming together in celebration of some good old-fashioned competition. It was an incredible experience.”
Bowen is one of more than 180 ESPN employees on site preparing to deliver fans an unprecedented Olympic-style production of the Games, with complete multiplatform coverage beginning Friday, July 10 at 7:30 p.m. ET with live telecasts of the opening ceremony on ESPN and ESPN Deportes.
The torch eventually was passed on to former “Canadian Idol” winner Eva Avila, who then lit the community cauldron on stage at the North York Civic Centre.
“The Pan Am Games are an appetizer to the Olympics, and people around the world will be watching this event,” Bowen said. “I just wanted to make ESPN proud and contribute in any way I could.”
Bruce Bowen after carrying the Pan Am flame from ESPNFrontRow on Vimeo.
Video produced by Gabriela Nunez
