If there’s one thing Stephen Colbert loves, it’s the U.S.A. After years of talking up the red, white and blue on his show, the Colbert Report, Colbert took his love for his country to a new level, becoming the main sponsor for one of America’s most successful Olympic teams.

The “Colbert Nation” is now the primary financial sponsor for the 2010 U.S. Olympic speedskating team. During the Nov. 2 episode of the Colbert Report, the host announced that his show and its viewers would become the team’s main sponsor.

The team lost its primary sponsor, DSB Bank NV, when the company declared bankruptcy in October. Without a sponsor, the team experienced serious financial problems that put its participation in the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics in jeopardy.

“In all seriousness, it’s devastating,” Olympic speedskater Dan Jansen told Colbert of the loss of the sponsor. “It’s not exactly America’s pastime, so we don’t have sponsors lining up to help our team and our athletes.”

Colbert quickly stepped behind the United States’ most successful winter Olympic team, which has won 32 gold medals and 75 total in the past 85 years.

The show itself is not giving money to the team, but instead asks its viewers to donate. Within the first few hours of a donation link on Colbert’s website, fans raised over $40,000 for the team.

Colbert has been “tweeting” about his sponsorship, urging people to donate. In one clever post he wrote, “Click here for naked pictures of me, Stephen Colbert,” with an attached link to the U.S. speedskating team’s donation website. Supporters can donate using a credit card or by mailing a check to the team.

By adding the “Colbert Nation” logo to the leg, head and chests of the team’s full spandex uniforms, Colbert has used his sponsorship to advertise for his show. Since the viewers of Colbert’s show are the ones making the donations, he is essentially getting free advertising through the U.S. speedskating team.

Certain members, though grateful for the sponsorship, fear that because the Colbert Report is a comical show, people will consider speedskating a joke instead of the serious, competitive sport it is.

“We’re Olympic athletes, and that in itself deserves respect,” Vancouver qualifier Katherine Reutter told Time Magazine. “But we race around in little circles in full-body spandex. There’s plenty of stuff to make fun of.”

Whether viewers find Colbert’s sponsorship as comedic or considerate, there is no denying that Stephen Colbert just gave the U.S speedskating team a vital gift: his viewers’ wallets.