What would have happened if I had stolen / intercepted the Olympic Torch?

This is a true story, and I wonder what would have happened if I’d done it, for my moment of international fame.

Back in the late 1990s, I was in my early 30s, and there was a ‘carrying across the country’ run with the Olympic torch, which was en route to light the start of the Summer Olympic games.

The torch was to be carried through my city (Memphis), and crowds gathered where possible to witness the event. But I really didn’t care about the ritual of carrying the torch across the country through Memphis. I just liked the Cooper Young neighborhood because it is artsy and historic, and I like to walk or drive through it now and then. I really sort of forgot about this event,

When I drove to Cooper Young, I noticed a lot of cars—and soon (I thought) found out why. Several streets were blocked off, I assumed due to road construction or some street event. I pressed on where I could, and soon found myself kind of barricaded with only one way out.

A block and a half away, I saw a bus with a large crowd running outside. I first thought it was a bus that was stalled and everyone was out pushing it. But it was a much bigger crowd than what would be on a typical bus. Then, a block ahead, I saw the man carrying the Olympic Torch, ahead of the crowd.

He was near the point of exhaustion, a half block ahead of the crowd. And he passed my car so close that I could see the beads of sweat and even smell the perspiration as he gasped and gasped for breath, about to drop.

For a couple of seconds, I wondered. Its just him and me, and my running car. What if I just snatched that Olympic torch and drove off with it?

Maybe I’d’ve had a day of international fame. Would I have gone to prison? And for how long? Would it have been worth it?

Well, I didn’t do it. But I wonder if I made the right decision.