Vancouver, B.C. – The Opening Ceremony for the 2010 Winter Olympics will take place tonight in Vancouver and like many past Olympics the question remains on who will light the torch.

Many famous former athletes have a history of lighting the flame including Muhammad Ali who lit it during the opening ceremonies for the summer Olympics in Atlanta in 1996.

Another notable lighting occurred during the opening ceremonies for the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City in 2002 when the entire 1980 USA ‘Miracle on Ice’ hockey team led by their captain Mike Eruzione handled the honors.

This year, the favorite? Canada’s most respected hockey player, Wayne Gretzky and the buzz has gathered a lot of momentum over the past few days.

A recent poll conducted by the Globe and Mail found that 25 percent of Canadians want to see Gretzky, their most famous sports hero light the flame when the ceremony takes place tonight. A poll held on CTVOlympics.com has Gretzky at 41 percent.

Although the NHL’s all-time leading scorer never won a gold medal for Canada as a player, he did manage Team Canada to the top of the podium in Salt Lake in 2002.

The ceremony can be seen on NBC at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Copyright © 2010 – Sports Climax