This is very funny. I heard a certain skater who went to the Olympics spent $20,000 on bags in Italy.. Most people buy bags before they go on a trip. Man thats a lot of ice time for us Adults and somebody should tell that skater that those bags still finish up in the back of the plane or lost with the $20 Walmart kind..

But maybe the skater only purchased 2 or 3 bags, with total cost of only 20 thousand dollars.

For some reason Johnny Weir comes to mind....dunno why!

I thought the same thing!

Yea,,well I think I would have invested in a deposit for a house or something. You can't live in a bag.. $20 or $20,000..they all look the same to someone making $6 an hour at the airport... ( just another bag to throw in the back ).

But maybe 20 thousand dollars to them is no different than a disposable tissue, so it doesn't make any difference to them whether they buy a 6 dollar bag or a 10 thousand dollar bag.

I think I would have given that money to one of the hundreds of other skaters from other countries who had to pay for there own way to the Olympics. There are many countries with not much of an Olympic commity. . Some are so poor they can't even afford to buy there athletes a plane ticket. A great majority of athletes who go to the Olympics pay there own way..I know people who have.

OK.. that being said, Il get off my soap box here. after all, Iv never seen a $10,000 bag.

Me too and starskate has a valid point. Come to think of it if it was Weir who bought the bags, maybe he bought them as a gift for his roomate at the Olympics who had to put up with his mouth and obsession for clean floors!!

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Adult Nationals, 2009 "The Time of My Life"

Does anyone know if they are taking 20K in dollars or Lira? I don't know what the exchange rate is these days, but when I was in Italy about 20 years ago, the exchange rate was around 1,500 Lira to the dollar. I went to lunch for 7,000!

Also, not exactly sure about the Italian geography, but I believe Gucci is located somewhere around Florence. I know a lot of tourists make it a point to check it out. Maybe they have a location somewhere around Torino.

I cat sat for a friend who went to Italy and she brought me back a beautiful bag, though hopefully not in that range! This discussion follows my thought of "just because you can do it, does not mean you should" It holds for butt spins and dropping 20,000 on bags. Even if I had it, I'd not do it unless it was bags for a community!

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Recycle Love - Adopt a homeless pet

I just reckon that if somebody wants to purchase 20 thousand dollars worth of bags or buy a relatively expensive bag, then that's their own right. There's no telling if that person has already donated to charity and good causes before, and no telling if this person can easily afford the bags....very easily afford them. If somebody reckons a person that they're not even related to, or doesn't even know - should do this, this, and this....then they might as well be their boss or something. What somebody else does with their own money is not any of our business, unless the money's been spent on doing bad deeds or something.

I don't think anyone is trying to b a 'boss' or anyhing. I think it's a matter of social conciousness. No one's telling a person "they can't" at all, and it probably happens all the time . I can oly say I' m more in the line of thinking with the speedskater Cheak (?) than anyone dropping 20,000 on a bag, whatever else they might do.

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Recycle Love - Adopt a homeless pet

Well, it wouldn't be Lira since Italy is using the Euro now. When I was in Paris two summers ago, the exchange rate was 1 euro = $1.50 USD. So if it was 20,000 euro, that would be more than 20,000 USD.

You wouldn't do that now - Italy now uses the Euro, and lira are obsolete. Although I rather suspect a lot of the population still thinks in lira....

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Mrs Redboots
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I love my computer because my friends live in it!
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Not sure if this is a defense or not. Here's an article about Johnny Weir shopping in Torino. Does NOT mention his dropping $20g's on a bag.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...022101861.html

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Read the article- I'll take my Hects (soon to be Macy's), JC Penney, Kohls, or Old Navy any day!!

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Adult Nationals, 2009 "The Time of My Life"

Well I started out NOT mentioning any names on this, He skated OK, its just a pity that the media spent more time going shopping with him than showing the competion he was up against.... ( boring.... ) I want to see skating not some rich kid spend a lot of money he has no idea what to do with..

OK In said my piece and thats all... I can't believe it..

It's his money he can do whatever he wants with it.

People don't come to a fourm when i buy something and say. "OMG did you see those underpants mercedeslove bought! omg! what was she thinking?"

if they did I would kick them

I love Johnny. he's a great skater and adorable. If he wants to buy bags from "Louie" then he can buy bags from "Louie". he is an adult. It's his money, his life.

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" ...........ahh,

I should say again, that I did not mention any names As far an Mr Weir is concerned he can spend as much money as he likes. But I think it would have looked better to see young American skaters on international TV than young American skaters on shopping sprees on international TV.
Im not sure this sends the right message to the rest of the world.

Many skaters in other countries pay there own way to the Olympics because there is no support or a way to make money from skating in those countries.
So from a diplomicy stand point, it might have been better That NBC skip the shopping..
Perhapes it is NBC who should re-think this in future... It just didn't look good.
Once again, Id rather watch skaters than shoppers.

Sorry if you where offended Merced...that was not my intention .

I agree - many of the color interviews and "day in the life of ..." pieces made the skaters look dumb or frivolous. It would have been nice if they had shown them at Charity affairs or studying for their SATs/tests.

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But did you see it on international television, or only on national television? Certainly here in the UK we only saw him skate, and no mention of shopping sprees was made. Mind you, I don't see our newspapers any more, but the kind of newspaper that would report such a thing has never heard of ice-skating (except Dancing on Ice), far less Jonny Weir.

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Mrs Redboots
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I love my computer because my friends live in it!
Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

A friend of mine saw something about it on German TV and in any case if its on the net , ( and it is ) , Its international. . I seem to remember a British athlete I saw on NBC who had to stuggle to find the money to get her self to the Olympics, I don't remember the sport and she did not medal but it was a good story and I could only think that she was the true spirit of the Olympic Athlete and the American speed skater who got $25,000 for his win and donated the lot to some charity, This was good TV. I would rather see this kind of story than someone going on a shopping spree in stores most of us wouldn't be caught dead in...But as one person put it and I quote " Its his money and he can spend it how he likes. " This may be true but I don't think it looked good for him or the USFSA to have the media taging along watching him spend more money than most of us make in a year. As I said before most athletes actualy stuggle to find the money to go. If your going to be one of the best in your sport ( "and he is ") you need to remember the World is watching. But this is only the thought of one viewer and Ill leave it at that...

It wasn't the skater's fault that the media were tagging along behind. I don't think it's up to the world to go policing and imposing their views about how a skater should spend their own money.