Author: Kabir Sawhney

Question: what do half of the starting quarterbacks in the AFC have in common?

If you guessed “a lack of adequate pass protection” and “being abjectly inferior to Peyton Manning,” you would have missed out on the third correct answer — eight of the AFC’s 16 regular starting quarterbacks made the Pro Bowl this season.

The reason for this unusually high number of selections to the AFC’s All-Star team is “injury.” A total of three quarterbacks will actually be suited up for the game, which takes place the Sunday before the Super Bowl — Houston’s Matt Schaub, Tennessee’s Vince Young and Jacksonville’s David Garrard — all three of whom are replacements for original selections. One quarterback, Manning, is not playing because he is playing the next week in the Super Bowl.

That leaves Philip Rivers, Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger and Carson Palmer, all of whom voluntarily declined to play in the game due to claimed “injuries.” These claims are questionable at best due to the fact that all four quarterbacks played through the entire regular season and, in some cases, first- and second-round playoff games, emerging with nary a scratch from their final contests.

The only plausible explanation is that these players — and the franchises that they represent — have no desire to play and risk injury in a meaningless game. After a long and tough season, players simply do not want to continue sustaining damage to their bodies, especially when the potential risks of participation are much higher than the benefits.

This issue is simply the most significant of the many that beset the Pro Bowl, the NFL’s annual equivalent to an All-Star game. Traditionally played in Honolulu, Hawaii the week after the Super Bowl, the game has been beset by rapidly declining relevancy. Last year’s Pro Bowl scored extremely low TV ratings and ticket receipts. To put it simply, players and fans alike don’t care about the game.

In order to try and make the Pro Bowl a big deal again, the NFL chose to hold the event the week before the Super Bowl at the same location, Sun Life Stadium in Miami. It was hoped that the change would generate more buzz for the game. Also important was the fact that if the game were held at its regularly scheduled date, it would be competing head-to-head for viewers with such significant events as the NBA All-Star Game, the Winter Olympics and the Daytona 500.

The move was met with significant criticism. NBC analyst Al Michaels flatly stated that moving the date wouldn’t work. Various ESPN and Sports Illustrated columnists came to the same conclusion and I am inclined to agree. If you can’t even get the players to care, how can you possibly hope for anyone else to do so?

Reasons for the universal dislike of the Pro Bowl can be found when comparing it to the (fairly successful) All-Star contests in the other three major professional leagues. MLB plays a 162-game season and the NBA and NHL both play 82-game regular seasons. By contrast, the NFL plays a 16-game season and with good reason: every single game takes a much greater mental and physical toll on the athletes. In the context of a baseball, basketball or hockey season, playing in one extra game that occurs in the middle of the season is not a great burden — indeed, players see participation in these games as more of an enjoyable experience than a chore.

There is really only one possible solution to fix the farce that the Pro Bowl has become: abolish the game altogether. The point of the Pro Bowl is to honor the top performers at every position in the past season. Simply selecting the Pro Bowlers as per the current system and then not playing the game can accomplish this goal. Indeed, the way the game is conducted now simply diminishes the honor of being called All-Pro. When half of the starting quarterbacks in a given conference are Pro Bowlers, it diminishes the value of the selection and turns it into a joke.

While this is the only logical solution to fix this quandary, the reality is that the NFL will probably continue to conduct a game that no one has any interest in. As long as they can squeeze any revenue out of it, the farce that is the Pro Bowl will continue. I anticipate a day when scout-team players are starting and every position player in the league is a Pro Bowler, right after 30 non-Super Bowl franchises have held press conferences about breakouts of mass tendinitis.

Kabir Sawhney will probably be following the medical “difficulties” of third-string kickers. Tell him how this is a valuable use of time at ksawhney “at” stanford.edu.

The No. 4 Stanford women’s swimming and diving team (6-0, 2-0 Pac-10 Conference) has had an impressive dual meet season thus far. En route to another undefeated record, the Cardinal defeated three top-25 opponents – No. 16 Michigan, No. 7 Florida and No. 2 Arizona, with the last win coming this past Saturday.

The 2010 campaign will continue this weekend in L.A., as the Card travels to face two strong Pac-10 opponents – UCLA (5-1, 2-1) and No. 9 Southern California (5-1, 2-1). While both schools hope to challenge Stanford, the Cardinal should be able to pull out wins in both meets. Both UCLA and USC’s sole losses came against Arizona, whom Stanford soundly defeated this past weekend at Avery Aquatics Center 173-125.

Of the two L.A. schools, UCLA will pose the least significant challenge to Stanford. Last year, the Bruins finished 41st at the NCAA Championships and do not seem to have improved significantly since then. Although they have a strong record, most of their competition has been fairly weak, with their non-conference wins coming against Fresno State, Kansas and UC-Santa Barbara. The Bruins will look to junior Brittany Beauchan to pick up points in the 100-yard and 200-yard breaststroke.

USC fields a stronger team, boasting several swimmers and divers that have competed in the Olympics and in world championship meets. The Trojans also will attempt to build on a strong finish from last season, when they finished ninth at the NCAA Championships. To defeat the Cardinal, the Trojans will count on strong performances from Lyndsay DePaul and Haley Anderson, who won two events apiece for the Trojans against Arizona.

Stanford will look to its high-powered trio of senior Julia Smit, senior Elaine Breeden and junior Kate Dwelley to deliver victory this weekend. All three won numerous events against both the Wildcats and the Sun Devils, and will be instrumental to the Cardinal’s continued success.

Smit, an Olympian and a world-record holder, will be especially key, as she consistently delivers one or two wins per meet and anchors some of the Cardinal’s best relay teams. She has the potential to rack up points in her two signature individual events, the 200-yard and 400-yard individual medley, and she will also lead Stanford relay squads in the 400-yard and 800-yard freestyle relays.

USC also presents one of the country’s best diving teams, posing a stiff challenge to Stanford diving. The Card, however, knows victory is within its grasp – senior Carmen Stellar and junior Meg Hostage both performed well against USC earlier this month at the Bruin Diving Invitational in Westwood, Calif. USC standout Victoria Ishimatsu will provide the pair’s main challenge as the defending Pac-10 champion in the 3-meter springboard.

However, Stellar did not appear too concerned about what results the divers will achieve against USC and UCLA.

“It is important that these are working meets,” she said. “We’re dealing with anxiety and making sure we stay with our mechanics under pressure. It’s good to be put in these situations, it’s just a learning experience.”

Head coach Lea Maurer also spoke to her team’s mindset going into this weekend.

“We need to keep an eye on our recovery,” Maurer said. “[The swimmers] need enough rest so they can peak at the right time.”

“Our goal is to make sure our team races well and handles competition under pressure,” added freshman Megan Fischer-Colbrie. “We’re looking to see our times improve as the season progresses.”

While dual meets and the Pac-10 season are certainly important, they pale in comparison to the Pac-10 and NCAA tournaments at the end of the season. According to Smit, each meet matters most as preparation for those tournaments, as well as a way to get a preview peek at the competition. The fact that the team must swim two meets in a row is also important, as the end-of-season meets require similar endurance.

“Since we first stepped on campus this year, our goal has been to win NCAAs,” said freshman Rebecca Hinds. “We know that can happen and that’s been our goal since the beginning.”

“We can treat each meet as a dress rehearsal for the bigger meets,” Fischer-Colbrie said.

After a strong start to the season, the No. 3 Stanford women’s swimming and diving team (4-0, 0-0 Pacific-10 Conference) faces its stiffest test yet this weekend. No. 2 Arizona (6-0, 3-0 Pac-10) and Arizona State (6-3, 2-2 Pac-10) will visit The Farm on Friday and Saturday respectively.

The meet against Arizona is the toughest dual meet remaining on the Cardinal’s schedule. Arizona is a perennial powerhouse and Stanford’s annual duel with the Wildcats is usually the most anticipated dual meet on the schedule.
Last year, the Card defeated the Wildcats by a razor-thin margin, winning 150.5-147.5 in Tucson, Ariz. Stanford was trailing for most of the meet, but with five events remaining the Cardinal stormed back to claim the victory. Junior Liz Smith won the 200-yard breaststroke and the 400-yard individual medley and senior Elaine Breeden won the 100-yard butterfly to bring Stanford close to victory. Senior swimmer and Olympic medalist Julia Smit won the meet by .16 seconds in the final event, the 400-yard freestyle relay.
Both teams went on to finish the season among the country’s elite programs. At the NCAA Championships, the Wildcats and the Cardinal finished third and fourth, respectively.
This year’s meet figures to be just as close and exciting.
“It’s a really tough matchup — their strengths match up with our strengths,” said Stanford head coach Lea Maurer. “We anticipate a meet similar to last year’s. It will come down to who wins the touchouts.”
The teams enter this weekend separated by just four points in the national rankings and match up well against each other. However, Maurer isn’t really focusing on the rankings table.
“We don’t really pay attention to them,” she said. “We’ve had a big rivalry [with Arizona] for the past few years — the meets always come within 10 points. We’re worried about the rankings the day after.”
“We don’t put too much emphasis on rankings heading into meets. I believe your performance in a competition says a lot more about what kind of team you are than the rankings before a meet,” Breeden added.
While the Cardinal can usually count on Smit, Breeden, Smith and junior Kate Dwelley to deliver a certain number of points in a meet, Arizona’s top swimmers are in similar events. Both teams have strong freestyle relay squads in the 200, 400 and 800-yard distances. Breeden will also face tough competition in her signature event, the 200 fly, from Arizona’s Ana Agy, Whitney Lopus and Erin Campbell.
“We have some events that we normally pencil in as wins, but their big [swimmers] match up well against ours,” Maurer explained.
This weekend also marks the start of Pac-10 competition for the team. Arizona, Stanford and Southern California are this year’s top contenders for the Pac-10 crown.
“I think that the fact that both the Arizona and ASU meets are conference meets signify that we have entered a new phase of the season where the quality of competition increases,” Dwelley said. “We have to be prepared to race with more intensity.”
While Arizona is the main focus of the weekend, the Cardinal still have to face Arizona State, which is on a three-meet winning streak going into a meet at Berkeley on Friday.
When asked if Stanford would keep the same intensity as the Arizona match on Saturday, Maurer responded. “The pressure’s on now. We have to race, we have to sharpen our focus and be able to handle the elements.”
“The focus of these meets is to practice racing and work on the details,” Breeden said.
While these meets are certainly significant, the main focus remains on the all-important Pac-10 and NCAA tournaments at the end of the season.
“Leading up to the meet we are not doing anything special to prepare for this meet in particular — we are working hard in preparation for the end of season meets,” Dwelley commented.
“We always head into dual meets with the goal of winning, but winning dual meets is not as important of a goal to our team as winning at the championship meets,” Breeden added.
However, the team won’t be distracted during its dual meets.
“On Friday and Saturday the team will be completely focused on the task at hand . . . racing Arizona and Arizona State,” Dwelley said.

Divers find success in L.A.

At last weekend’s Bruin Diving Invitational in Westwood, Calif., the Stanford diving team brought home the hardware with four second-place finishes and two first-place finishes. The event pitted the Card against divers from San Diego, UCSD, UCLA, Southern California and Connecticut.

As expected, the Cardinal upperclassmen were dominant. On the men’s side, senior Dwight Dumais began his quest for an individual NCAA championship with a strong second-place finish in the 1-meter springboard. However, Dumais disappointed in the 3-meter springboard — he finished in eighth place in the preliminaries and failed to qualify for the finals.

Junior Brent Eichenseer was met with more success. He achieved third in the 1-meter behind Dumais and USC’s Harrison Jones, and won second on platform diving behind Jones. Eichenseer ended the meet on Sunday with a forceful performance in the 3-meter finals, winning the competition by 64.70 points over UConn’s Adam Genuario.

The women’s team also had a very strong meet. Senior Carmen Stellar placed second in all three events, and junior Meg Hostage garnered a first-place finish in the 1-meter and third place in the 3-meter.

Sophomore Mary Beth Corbett, who recorded seventh-place finishes in the 1-meter and 3-meter, commented on the overall success of the meet.

“I did better than I expected,” she said. “The competition was good, because USC has two people who’ve been to the Olympics, so getting as close as [Stellar and Hostage] did to them was a great win.”

Stellar actually placed higher than one of those Olympians, Ariel Rittenhouse, on the platform.

“We know there’s a lot of progress to be made before Pac-10s, and we know that we can do that,” Corbett added.

Even more impressive is the fact that Stanford placed so well despite not going into the meet with a highly competitive mindset.

“This was one of our earlier meets, so it didn’t mean a lot in terms of places or points,” Corbett said. “This was the meet where our coach was looking to see where we are in the season [and] how we’re progressing. It was a really good indicator for our team of how we’re doing.”

The Cardinal freshmen also performed well, giving head coach Dr. Rick Schavone an early indication of their level relative to the competition. For the women, freshman Jennifer Wylie dove well on the 1-meter and 3-meter, but did not reach any finals, placing 17th and 21st respectively on the two boards. Freshman Tommy Fraychineaud did somewhat better — he made the finals in both springboards, placing ninth in the 1-meter and third in the 3-meter.

While the long-term focus is on the Pac-10 and NCAA tournaments, the divers are preparing for next weekend’s meets against Arizona and Arizona State. Both swimmers and divers will compete in these dual meets, which involve both the men’s and women’s teams.

“Everyone has one or two things they know they need to work on,” Corbett said. “We really want to work on technique, so the meets will end up being natural and we won’t have to work as hard for it.”

The Stanford diving team, composed of four men and four women, looks to build on its success under veteran coach Dr. Rick Schavone. Several divers look to repeat as All-Americans this year. (Stanford Daily File Photo)

Team begins play at Bruin Diving Invitational

Often overlooked because of its small size, the Stanford diving team has been one of the nation’s premier programs for the past several years. The team fields eight divers — four men and four women. The team’s relatively low on-campus profile is attributable to both its size and the fact that many of its events take place at large tournaments off-campus rather than in dual meets.

In a sport measured chiefly by individual achievement, the Cardinal divers had some success last year. The men’s team sent two divers to last year’s NCAA Tournament, senior Dwight Dumais and junior Brent Eichenseer. Dumais was an All-American in both the one-meter and three-meter springboards, and Eichenseer exceeded expectations by winning All-American honors in platform diving.

“It was the first time I was an All-American on both boards,” Dumais said. “I was seeded second in the one-meter finals. But diving is a sport of moments — I didn’t have the best of competitions and I ended eighth. College diving is so deep right now — if you don’t compete at your best, it’s tough to win.”

Head coach Dr. Rick Schavone, who is entering his 32nd season as Stanford diving’s coach, said he was pleased with last year’s results.

“The men had a very good meet. Brent was exceptionally good,” Schavone said. “He had a very good year and we hope to build on that.”

The women’s team did not have as much success, however. Junior Meg Hostage was unable to finish strong at NCAAs, placing 25th and 27th in the one-meter and three-meter, respectively. Senior Carmen Stellar had relatively more success, placing 14th in the platform consolation finals.

“Carmen was a walk-on, so to do that in her junior year was an amazing accomplishment,” Schavone said. “Stellar had a great year, but the women’s season was a disappointment overall.”

For this season, the main focus is on getting Dumais, Eichenseer, Stellar and Hostage back to the NCAA Finals and improving on last year’s finishes. Given that all four have already been to the NCAAs at least once, chances are high that this goal will be accomplished.

“We want to be in the top 16 for both men and women,” Schavone said.

While the team trains together to build up camaraderie, diving is essentially an individual sport and each diver has personal goals for the end of the season. The two seniors are the most ambitious.

“My goal is an individual NCAA title on the one or three-meter springboard. I don’t want to end my Stanford career without bringing home a title,” Dumais said. “Statistically, the one-meter springboard has been my best event — I have three All-Americans and have competed internationally. Right now, the three-meter is primarily my focus. That’s an Olympic event while the one-meter is not, so that’s where I’d like to have my success.”

Stellar also has big expectations.

“I’d love to final in all events at NCAAs,” she said. “I also want to get top-three finishes in all three events at the Pac-10 championships.”

The Cardinal sophomores and freshmen don’t really come into this picture, but Schavone explained that the team’s approach is very long-term.

“[The underclassmen] are just getting better,” he said. “They will keep improving and get to a level where they can replace the upperclassmen. It’s a four-year process.”

Sophomore Mary-Beth Corbett also talked about this progression.

“Being a diver is a four-year process. The emphasis in freshman and sophomore year is looking at the upperclassmen, learning and developing new skills. That’s what makes Stanford Diving different from other schools — the focus on the development program.”

Corbett said her main goal for this year was to do well on her dives and continue improving.

“I want to make a statement that I am going to be one of the top Stanford divers,” she said.

The diving team faces its first competition of the winter season this weekend, when both the men and the women head to Los Angeles to compete in the Bruin Diving Invitational.

“We have two factors working against us: the team went on a break and then they came back and trained really hard — we’re a little beat up right now. This is just an introductory level for the boys,” Schavone said. “It’s a test for the girls against the USC girls, who are the best in the conference — we can see where we are against them. It’s our first meet back — it’s just about getting our feet wet.”

Stellar agreed, saying: “It’s an early meet, so I’m excited to get a look at the competition and see where I’m at.”

“I simply want to test out how much I’ve been training and how much I’ve improved over the break,” Eichenseer added.

The Bruin Diving Invitational will take place all day Saturday and Sunday.

The Stanford women’s swimming and diving team started its winter season off with a big home win against Pacific on Saturday, beating the Tigers by a final score of 154-97. The team’s dual meet record now stands at 4-0 as it looks to go undefeated in dual meets for the second consecutive season. Stanford has lost only one dual meet since 2006, going 31-1 in that span.

As expected, the Cardinal was able to dominate Pacific despite lingering fatigue from holiday training, sweeping all 16 events. The Tigers put up little resistance, placing no higher than fourth in 10 events.

Strong performances from senior co-captain Elaine Breeden, junior Liz Smith and sophomore Betsy Webb headlined the Cardinal’s win. Each swimmer notched three wins in the meet, including relay events.

The trio and junior co-captain Kate Dwelley started the day by winning the 200-yard medley relay, posting a time of 1 minute, 43.61 seconds. Other Cardinal relay teams came in second, third, fourth and sixth.

Breeden went on to win the 200 butterfly and the 200 individual medley, posting times of 2:01.24 and 2:05.89, respectively. She won both events by four-second margins.

Webb won the 50 freestyle in 23.23, and Smith took the 500 free in 4:44.29. These two, Dwelley and sophomore Sam Woodward won the day’s final event, the 200 free relay, with a B-standard time of 1:33.29.

Senior co-captain Julia Smit, who broke two world records in England over winter break, also turned in a strong performance. She posted B-standard times in the 100 backstroke and the 100 free, going 55.07 and 48.97, respectively.

The Stanford freshmen were also impressive — freshmen Andi Murez and Natalie Durant each won events. Murez took the 200 free in 1:51.41, and Durant won the 200 backstroke in 2:02.84. Other freshmen swimmers placed well in numerous events and were key parts of Cardinal relay teams.

Despite this strong showing, there is still a need for improvement for these swimmers.

“The freshmen can step it up and contribute to the team more, including myself,” said freshman Megan Fischer-Colbrie, who placed second in the 100 backstroke and third in the 200 back. “We can do a better job helping the team score points.”

Other winners for the Card were juniors Angela Duckworth (1,000 free) and Kerry Kraemer (100 breast), sophomore Jamie Bruce (200 breast) and senior Stefanie Sutton (100 fly).

Stanford’s diving team also won its two events, the one-meter and three-meter platform.

In the end, the meet was little more than a warm-up for the Cardinal as it heads into Pacific-10 Conference competition. Next weekend, the diving team will head south to the Bruin Diving Invitational in Westwood, Calif., and the Card will duel Arizona State and No. 2 Arizona in two dual meets on Jan. 22 and Jan. 23.

“[The meet] was like a dress rehearsal for the bigger meets to come,” Fischer-Colbrie said. “Right now, it’s not about the team’s end result, but more about making sure we’re doing the right things to race well.”

The team’s main headline of the season did not come in a Stanford meet, however. Senior Julia Smit set two new world records at the Duel in the Pool in Manchester, England over winter break. While competing for Team USA, Smit posted world-record times of 2:04.60 in the 200-meter individual medley and 4:21.04 in the 400-meter individual medley. She is also the defending NCAA champion in both events.

In Stanford’s first meet on Oct. 2 against San Jose State, Smit dominated the competition and headlined a 183-103 win for the Cardinal. She took three events — the 100-yard breaststroke, the 100-yard freestyle and the 1,000-yard freestyle — to propel Stanford to victory. Junior co-captain Kate Dwelley and senior co-captain Elaine Breeden also contributed significantly.

On Nov. 7, the Card made an even more emphatic statement at a tri-meet in Gainesville, Fla. Stanford soundly defeated two of the nation’s strongest programs, Michigan and Florida, by scores of 307-122 and 231-198 respectively. Smit and sophomore Betsy Webb led the Cardinal victories. Smit won four individual races and led two Cardinal relay teams to victory, while Webb added victories in three freestyle races.

Looking forward, the Cardinal’s ultimate goal for this season is to improve on last year’s finish in the NCAA Finals, where the team narrowly beat out Texas to bring the fourth-place trophy back to The Farm.

“We were able to maximize our potential,” said head coach Lea Maurer. “I thought we had a strong team effort and we were happy with fourth.”

Breeden was also optimistic about this year’s prospects.

“We have a really good shot at improving our standings from last year. With hard work, I think we can do really well,” she said.

Maurer also emphasized that the team’s main strength is not in the individual swimmers, but in their ability to work together dynamically.

“We have many different leaders and draw strengths from a variety of different groups,” she said.

“We’ve really come together as a team, and we continue to strive toward our goals,” Dwelley added. “In every race, we race for the team and each other.”

Maurer also emphasized that the team needs to work on its depth. Last season, 10 Stanford swimmers and two divers were able to qualify for the NCAA Finals, well short of the 18 athletes a school is permitted to send to the meet. “We need to send more people to the NCAAs and score at the NCAAs,” she added.

While the team is returning many top performers from last year, it also has a very strong recruiting class of new freshmen. The new swimmers have made numerous contributions this year, especially on relay squads.

“They’ve integrated really well into the team,” Dwelley said. “They provide us with a lot of extra competition, and bring great personality and a great dynamic to the team.”

Despite the team’s hot start, Maurer is focused on keeping the team fit and disciplined.

“What we’ve done at this point is relentless confidence and relentless fitness. We want to be really fit and mentally tough,” she said.

Another challenge put to the Cardinal is the new restrictions on high-tech swimming gear. Many critics claimed that the suits gave an unfair advantage to schools, like Stanford, that had deals with the right manufacturer.

“I’d like to [achieve my] best times, but that’s going to be tough,” Breeden said. “I hope to set new personal records despite the restrictions.”

The team’s next meet is at the Avery Aquatics Center on Saturday against Pacific at 1 p.m.

“[The swimmers are] tired, we just came back from holiday training,” Maurer said. “This will be a mental toughness and details test, to see if we can make good choices when we’re tired and not letting mistakes appear.”

According to Dwelley, the team is pretty broken down physically, but will still look to win this weekend.

“I’m not expecting super fast times. We’re going to work on race strategies and teamwork,” she said.

Stephen Colbert, host of Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report, has become one of the most famous and influential figures in America since his show first aired in October 2005. His show parodies the style of conservative TV talk show hosts, and his egomaniacal bluster has gained him a significant following, known as “Colbert Nation.”

Since his meteoric rise, Colbert has come to wield an influence far beyond his late-night TV show. He has appeared at the White House, been called the “Voice of a Generation,” and even has a treadmill named after him at the International Space Station. However, until now, Colbert has mostly stayed out of the sports world, mainly confining himself to political satire and fake punditry.

However, when the U.S. Speedskating team lost its chief sponsor, the defunct Dutch bank DSB, Colbert stepped in. Though now the team’s principal sponsor, Colbert himself didn’t forward the $300,000 needed for the team to attend the Vancouver Olympic Games in February; the team will be financed by donations from Colbert Nation, and the money has already been raised. The team’s uniforms will feature the Colbert Nation logo.

Colbert’s decision to sponsor the team has generated a significant reaction. U.S. Speedskating has been enthusiastic about the initiative. Its executive director appeared on The Report to encourage Colbert Nation to donate to the team, and short-track star Apolo Anton Ohno has also sounded his approval about the idea. Announcing the initiative, Colbert said, “On their enormous, billboard thighs, it will say, ‘Colbert Nation’… 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.”

While most of the skaters seem amenable to the Colbert Nation sponsorship, Shani Davis, one of the U.S.’s top stars, called Colbert a “jerk” in an interview with a Canadian newspaper. Davis’ comments came in response to a question about Colbert’s criticism of Canadians on his show, which included an attack on Vancouver officials for denying international athletes access to Olympic venues. Colbert has called Canadians “syrup-suckers” and “iceholes” on his show.    Colbert’s sponsorship has also drawn a great deal of attention to speedskating, historically America’s best sport in the Winter Olympics. Colbert recently appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated and discussed in the magazine how his TV persona views the Olympics. He said, “It’s a way to prove who’s got the best country. Only nobody gets hurt.”

Clearly, this sponsorship deal benefits both Colbert and U.S. Speedskating, and I don’t think it was a bad idea for Colbert to get his Nation involved in the Olympics. American interest in the Games is in decline, especially concerning the Winter Olympics. Endorsement and attention from a popular figure can only be beneficial to the entire U.S. effort to bring home gold from Vancouver. The success of Colbert’s partnership might also entice other prominent figures to lend their support to the U.S. Olympic program in 2010 and beyond.

The sponsorship deal is also revolutionary in that it relies on fans, rather than corporate sponsors, for the team’s funding. Of course, the fundraising success is partially due to the fact that Colbert’s followers are passionate and close to cult-like. Starting with these games, however, the U.S. Olympic Committee has the chance to try and get more fan involvement with American teams, as a way to both provide funding and further boost interest.

The benefits the sponsorship will bring to Colbert and his show are not quite as clear. Certainly, he will get a bump from the free publicity generated by his move (such as the aforementioned Sports Illustrated cover). The initiative also fits Colbert’s TV personality: ardent patriotism is a critical part of his persona and sponsoring a struggling U.S. team is a great way to promote his red, white and blue attitude. Indeed, Colbert has constantly referenced the speedskating team on his show recently, providing the Colbert Nation with regular updates on the skaters’ progress and busting out the SI cover in his typical self-aggrandizing manner.

For now, we should stop thinking about the long-term effects of this new kind of partnership and just enjoy watching our team bring home gold in February. Olympic teams have given America some of its most uplifting moments and I look forward to seeing the Colbert Nation logo on top of the medal podium next month.