If this isn’t some harbinger of what’s in store for the upcoming Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, I don’t know what is. 

No matter: The cringe factor here is certifiably off the charts. Absolutely, certifiably, 100 percent off the charts. It could be the inherent face-palminess of the whole sad affair, or the fact that the clip runs entirely on ambient noise, just dragging out the cringe to an almost unbearable end. Either way, you’d think in 2013 the Olympic Committe would’ve figured out how to keep a damn torch lit. 

But really, just look at that poor guy. Look at him. Ooof. As my colleague Ben Richmond put it, “Just the sound of his quiet scuffling, and the nonverbal way he asks that guy to help light the flame… it’s like a Jacques Tati film.”

@thebanderson