More AOL discs saved from the garbage heaps
Honestly, is anyone not going to think of this the first time they see these medals?? How many free hours are the athletes going to get if they win these things?
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Have you seen how big these things are? Watched the award ceremonies after the combined nordic event and you should be Ahnold to keep from getting stoop-shouldered when you make the podium!
I do like the design. They were pretty much standard for decades. I’ve held the medals from Olympic winners in cycling and speed skating in the 70’s and they didn’t change from Olympic to Olympic. Wonder when this started?
My 7 year old son saw one on a guy this evening. I said “Look, he won a gold medal.” His prompt reply was…”In what? Eating donuts?” I love kids!
Something that strikes at the raw nature of the athelete, they’re not all too bad.
@ mad gusto… “They look so primitive.
From do you expect from that part of the world?”
What are you, a closed-minded fool? Torino = Italy = Ferraris and Italian cuisine.
“I would like to point out that AOL actually uses the Netscape browser (AOl owns Netscape)”
If AOL owns Netscape, that means it is their own browser.
So, if the winners of these events get large washers, i assume that the losers get matching screws?
they look different and very interesting, i dont know what is ugly there, people usually have diificulty accepting new, if medals were from always like that we would see then like something ordinary
I know what the medals are supposed to represent, the Italian Piazza, but not being all that familar with the Italian Piazza I learned that from the IOC website. I suppose if the Piazza was something familiar to you then you would “get it” I suppose. But not everyone is very familiar with Italian landmarks and therefore do not understand the concept behind the design and just see a flat disc with a big hole in the center. This, of course, makes many think of CDs, DVDs, doughnuts, washers, etc. Do I think it’s ugly? Well sorry for those who like it, but yes, I don’t think it meets the standard of looks that an Olympic medal should. In other words the thing is ugly! I really liked the medals from the Nagano games. Many did not know why half of the medal was jet black but apparantly the use of black laquer is something of a Japanese tradition or something (I recall a small video piece on the creation of the Nagano medals). I think the black laquer really made those medals unique (as they were not 100% gold, silver or bronze) and rather lovely to look at. Sorry for the Piazza medal supporters but I just don’t like the design and cannot believe it is the design that made the final cut!
hmm…im not american (apparently im from an inferior crap country) and I receive AOL discs quite regularly. When I first saw these medals i immediately thought DVD…maybe they come with movies of their winning moments burned on it.
I actually think the design’s pretty cool… or at least, I thought it was until I saw how huge they are! Nothing wrong with having a hole in them, but are the Olympics just going for bling-bling? Olympic medals should be classy and subtle. These are not.
to add to comment #38 – the losers don’t get large screws, they get screwed large! lol!
These medals are the ugliest Ive ever seen! They are the worst medals ever! If I were working my ass off for four years and then saw these medals, Id be so pissed that after all that hard work, Id get these stupid ugly medals with a hole in the middle of it. Im sorry but these medals totally suck!
They’re ok because they’re different. Remember the year the olympic medals were mostly clear and had the gold, silver or bronze center? I thought those were cool for a change. It’s crazy to complain over them being ugly and being mad that you worked hard for 4 yrs. only to get one of these medals. I’d like to buy a replica of one actually. Grow up people….because I sure think it would’ve been nice to see a gold one around Michelle Kwan’s neck. So, complain about something worth while.
Having seen the medals for the first time, I googled “Torino medals donut dvd” and this was the first site returned. Whiile I make no value judgement about the artistic merit of the medals (my personal taste in art leaning toward black velvet paintings of dogs playing cards and all), it was reassuring to see how many people shared my reaction to the medals.
they suck
It’s True!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/92629203@N00/102483601/
I thought the medals were U-G-L-Y. The past Olympics medals (summer and winter) were so elegant, classic and had beautiful engravings on them. CD/DVD came to mind immediately when I saw them. What the hell were the Italians thinking about? For a country that brought forth high fashion from Milan, fast/sleek cars…you would think they could do better than these ugly medals.
Here’s my cynical explanation: Maybe at the last minute someone ran to the office supply store and bought DVD/CDs and tied ribbons on them. 😉
I think the Italians are just trying to tell the athletes to bulk up. You know, put them on their weight bar and lift. Looks like a 10 pounder to me.
No you have it all wrong! The Olympic Committee punched out the center of the medals to sell the slugs as commemorative coins. This will create funds to pay for the medals.
I hate the new olympic medals. The hole int he middle makes them look so cheap. I Like the way the old traditional medals look. They looked more prestige and the had a btter design on the front. These new ones look like sort of like my little brother’s nintendo Game cube discs.
I laughed out loud when I saw the medals for the first time, but this would be fun… what if everybody in the stands at Torino went out and bought cds and tied them around their necks in support of their favorite athlete. Couldn’t be sillier than those songs the Curling fans were singing. Jeepers Creepers, too funny… The Olympics are just so much fun. I’m so inspired by all of the athletes, they’re great.
One other thing. I gotta apologize for the jerk who is putting down other countries. Not Cool. That’s a reflection on that jerk, and hopefully not on the rest of America. As a military spouse I spend every day hoping for the prosperity of every other country and the people who live there. I pray for every child, regardless of the country they live in. I’m hoping that everyone in this world will find respect for one another and peace. GIve it, Get it.
I like the new medals.They have holes but i have no clue why! I wonder if it is just to put the ribon in? just because theres a hole in it doesn’t mean that is special or somthing well anyway i like them!!!!!!!!
Cheap doughnut like, AOL freebie disc look alikes!
I’ll bet if you turn them over you’ll see “MADE IN CHINA”
Just some facts…
– Not all doughnuts have holes in them.
– The missing center is symbolic of Italy and anyone could learn that if they looked it up on the internet, or read earlier on when it was explained.
– Plus anyone could make fun of the medals that were in Salt Lake City four years ago… Is it just me, or aren’t medals supposed to be round, because the medals in Salt Lake weren’t round and do you know why? Symbolism (Look it up).
– The USA is losing in the medal count to a country 3 times smaller in population (Germany) and is only beating other countries with significantly smaller populations by a couple of of medals (Canada 10 times smaller and Austria 30 times smaller).
-On a personal note both the Torino 2006 medals and the Salt Lake City 2002 medals are cool.
Question: How many medals did American Skiier Bode Miller Win?
I seriously think these are the coolest medals yet. This is the only one I would actually want to have. Its cool because it looks good and it fits in with the winter games. It just matches its surroundings. I cant believe you dont like it. You must be f**cking fags.
Well ,they arnt traditional but id be happy if i won one!!!!!
but they look like they were sponsered dunkin dounuts!!!!
I agree with the post that I would extremely f***cking disappointed if I trained for years, also the fact some athletes having trained 15+ years and with all this hard work I get this piece of crap. PLEASE
As someone said the ones from Nagano were pretty sweet. And after looking through all the olympics it is the prettiest by a landslide.
http://www.olympic.org/upload/games/1998W_medal_b.jpg
The ugliest being the Sapporo 1972. Talk getting a lump of crap…..gees
http://www.olympic.org/upload/games/1972W_medal_b.jpg
Almost all the summer Olympic medals look the same.
I would rather have the traditional medal. Maybe these were supposed to be trendy italian chic pieces of s**t!
They really should have stuck with the traditional medal design, without the whole in it anyway. If I were an athlete I would want something solid looking; these appear sort of flimsy, somewhere between a discarded 45 record and CD disk. I’m surprised the Olympic committee went for these, but as so few athletes win them I doubt if anyone would throw them back.
I would love to see a picture of one of the male athletes filling that hole with his most intimate part dangling or jutting through it.