Tweets About Team USA's Olympic Gloves At The Opening Ceremony Deserve A Gold Medal

The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony was this morning, Feb. 9, and the American athletes looked super toasty in their Ralph Lauren outfits. Their gloves, however, caused a bit of a social media storm, and the tweets about Team USA's Olympic gloves are on point.

Ralph Lauren designed this year's opening ceremony outfits for Team USA. The American athletes are decked out in intricately knit sweaters, "USA" pom pom beanies, embroidered jeans, lace-up boots, and heated parkas, but the most eye-catching part of the outfit is the fringed gloves. The rest of the looks are red, white, and blue and patriotic AF, but the gloves are the focal point. The front is beaded with an American flag and the five Olympic rings, the body of the gloves are brown suede with fringe cascading down the side. Ralph Lauren as a brand is known for its Americana, western-inspired designs, but Olympic fashions are notorious for highlighting a country's official colors, so people were taken aback by the beige hand coverings.

My first impression of the gloves was how warm they looked, but I have a perpetual fear of being cold. Others noticed the funky design right off the bat and the amusing reactions and pop-culture comparisons poured in.

The Today Show debuted Ralph Lauren's designs on three of the athletes from Team USA. The segment was intended to feature the outfits in their entirety, with a focus on the opening ceremony heated jackets, but Twitter had something else in mind. The brown suede, fringed gloves that the athletes wore were distracting enough to merit their own social media discussion.

This photo of Gus Kenworthy, an American freestyle skiier who won a silver medal at the 2014 Sochi games, made the rounds. "WHAT ARE THOOOOOOOOSE," said one exasperated tweeter.

"Where were you when you first saw the US Olympic team uniform gloves," asked another viewer.

"I knew I had seen that #TeamUSA uniform before! Samsonite, I was way off," this user compared the gloves to a look that Jim Carey wore in the movie Dumb and Dumber and he's not that far off.

There were more than one Dumb and Dumber references.

"Nope they are from Laurence Fishburne as Cowboy Curtis, One of America's greatest actors ⚡️ 'The fringe on the Team USA uniform's gloves is having a moment,'" another pop-culture reference rolled in.

"Just saying #teamUSA #DoctorStrange #gloves #WinterOlympics2018," Doctor Strange made an appearance, too.

"The USA #WinterOlympics2018 team all have Doctor Strange's gloves on," agreed a fellow tweeter.

This tweet isn't that far off as Ralph Lauren is known for their western-inspired designs, maybe this really was the inspiration!

"Team USA’s Gloves For The Olympic Opening Ceremony Look Like Lumberjack-Themed Oven Mitts," wrote one outlet.

"With those massive gloves, it looks like Team USA is entirely composed of falconers. #WinterOlympics2018," a comparison to the gloves that bird handlers wear was born.

"Who wore it better? These #TeamUSA gloves look like falcon handlers’ #WinterOlympics #PyeongChang2018," see the similarity?

"Disappointed that zero birds answered the call of team USA's gloves. I blame Pence?" The falconry glove comparison lives on.

"What the hell are those gloves Team USA is wearing??? They’re like welding gloves for cowboys #OpeningCeremony #Olympics," this cowboy wedding glove idea gets points for originality.

While some viewers may disagree, the response on social media was a resounding no towards the gloves. Even though people seemed to dislike the accessory, the gloves are sold out on the Ralph Lauren website! If you want to score a pair, you can buy the 2018 Olympic gloves on eBay, but be warned, the prices are in the thousands. The opening ceremony mittens might be more your style, and price — I know those suede gloves won't be appearing on my credit card bill anytime soon.