Stephen Colbert, fans sponsor U.S. speedskaters

U.S. General Ray Odierno, Commanding General, Multinational-Force-Iraq, pretends to give actor/comedian Stephen Colbert of Comedy Central's ''The Colbert Report'' a haircut during Colbert's performance for U.S. military personnel at Al Faw Palace in Baghdad in this USO handout dated June 7, 2009.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - In a move that puts him at the cutting edge of sport sponsorships, comedian Stephen Colbert and his fans will back the U.S. Speedskating team at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, the talk show host said.

U.S. Speedskating, the governing body for the sport in the United States, needed a backer after this month's collapse of DSB Bank, a Dutch company that had sponsored the athletes.

Colbert, who announced the sponsorship on his show on Monday night, said he wanted to help the team compete at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, which are just over three months away.

"We must ensure that it is America's 38-inch thighs on that medal platform," Colbert said in a statement on Tuesday.

During Monday's telecast, Colbert signed a document on his desk making The Colbert Nation, which is what he calls his fans, sponsors of the team as his in-studio audience cheered.

An image was then shown of a U.S. skater with The Colbert Nation logo on his outfit. Colbert is asking his fans to donate to the cause online through his website, colbertnation.com.

Earlier this year, Colbert's fans heeded his call and participated in a NASA online poll to have a portion of the International Space Station named after him. Colbert won the poll, but NASA declined to name the hub after him, opting instead to put his name on a treadmill aboard the station.

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis: Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)