The Colbert US Speedskating Team

The US Speedskating Team must be very hard up for donations. Stephen Colbert is having the "Colbert Nation" sponsor the team, and the sponsorship idea seems to be that Colbert will solicit donations for the team and not contribute anything himself.

On the one hand, people may not give the team as much money as the previous sponsor DSB Bank.

On the other hand, Colbert is going to beat the Speedskating team like a dead horse on his show. Speedskating is in the middle of the road in terms of popularity in the Winter Olympics. Colbert's show gets 1-2 million viewers a night, and likely in a different demographic compared to those who watch the Winter Olympics.

But no publicity is bad publicity, and public donations are probably better than sponsorship by an insolvent Dutch bank, so the Speedskating Team is probably better off for it. Large sponsors of sporting teams or events are not easy to find, sponsors are much more likely to be backing out than willing to support teams in this economy. When Colbert showed interest, the Speedskating Team probably jumped at it, realizing it was probably their most lucrative opportunity.

But hopefully they do not become too much of a joke because of it.