Colbert Nation Sponsors US Olympic Speedskating Team

When you think of Stephen Colbert, the first thing you think of is competitive speedskating, right?

Oh, what's that? The first thing you think of is satirical comedy? Well, get ready for that to change, because as members of The Colbert Nation already know, The Colbert Report has taken a bold step, agreeing to become the primary sponsor of the US Speedskating team when they compete in the Vancouver Olympics next February.

"On their enormous, billboard thighs, it will say, 'Colbert Nation,'" the Comedy Central host told the Associated Press in his signature mock-serious style. "Be looking for that logo as it comes around the final turn. It will be easy to see because it will be in first place."

He's not joking, at least about the Colbert Nation logo part. Colbert made the big sponsorship announcement Monday on his show, as Olympic gold medalist speedskater Dan Jansen and US Speedskating executive director Robert Crowley handed him the official paperwork to sign and the audience chanted "U-S-A!"

Colbert's sponsorship came after the team's original sponsor, DSB Bank NV, declared bankruptcy in October and couldn't come up with the $300,000 in sponsorship money. With only a couple of months before the Olympics, Crowley said he welcomed Colbert's offer, even if he called it "definitely [an] unconventional arrangement."

The key to this sponsorship is that Colbert is not coughing up the money himself. Instead, he's calling upon the members of his Colbert Nation to make donations to the team online. In return, Colbert will build enthusiasm for the team on air, and probably broadcast from the Olympics in Vancouver. His only hesitation? "It still tragically involves a lot of Canadians. It's kind of unseemly how many Canadians I'm going to have to be dealing with."

If you'd like to help sponsor the US Speedskating Team, go to Colbert Nation or US Speedskating.

Photo courtesy of David Shankbone via Wikimedia Commons.