British Olympic Association inspired by Vancouver mittens

Hoping to mimic the success of Vancouver’s beloved red mittens, the British Olympic Association has unveiled what it hopes will be the “iconic memento” of the London Games: a scarf. The cotton scarves were inspired by the runaway success of the more than four million pairs of red mittens sold during the Vancouver Winter Games, which raised more than $14 million for Canada’s Own the Podium project.

Across the pond, reaction to the scarf, which bears “more than a passing resemblance to a tea towel,” noted the Telegraph, has been less than warm and fuzzy. “Scarves? Are we expecting a cold snap in August?” huffed one Twitter user. Seeing the wacky ways Brit athletes wore them at last week’s launch seemed “like a particularly strange dream,” snorted the Guardian. Swimmer Jenna Randall got creative with a Minnie Mouse headband, while BMX racer Shanaze Reade opted for an off-the-shoulder pashmina. Lee Pearson, a nine-time Paralympic dressage star, rocked a Boy Scouts-inspired neckerchief and tied a matching scarf around his crutch. Time will tell whether the Olympic cravat becomes synonymous with Britain’s Games, and a groundswell of patriotic support for its athletes. At first glance, that seems unlikely.