SEX, MONEY AND GLORY IN THE GREAT WHITE NORTH

Celebrate good times, come on! There are some wild times going down in Vancouver, British Columbia, site of the 2010 Winter Olympic games, and I’m not talking about the events themselves. The real hot-spot for action in Vancouver is the Olympic Village.

The organizers for the Vancouver games have continued what has become a common practice at the Olympics since the 1992 games in Barcelona…the distribution of free condoms to the residents of the OV. In Vancouver, the organizers have provided approximately 100,000 condoms for the participants at the Games’ two Villages. That number breaks out to 14 condoms available for each of the 7,000 athletes, coaches, trainers and officials.

What’s sex without the money? Some of the United States teams have developed creative ways to generate sponsorship dollars to fund their pursuit of Olympic glory. After the United States speed skating team lost a sponsor, fans of Stephen Colbert’s show on Comedy Central, The Colbert Report, stepped in and picked up the slack. The Colbert Nation made their contribution by donating nearly $300,000 to the program. The U.S. Curling Association upped the ante by partnering with Kodiak Technology Group and introducing the Hurry Hard condom. The product is named for a phrase used in competition to get their teammates to sweep the ice faster. Proceeds from the sale of the condoms are split between USA Curling and Monterey County AIDS prevention.



Maybe there is a benefit to the American athletes being so “relaxed” and well heeled as they are having unprecedented success in 2010. As of Sunday night, the U.S. team led the 2010 medal count with 24, seven of which are gold. It is possible that the U.S. could end up with 30 or more medals by the time the Vancouver Olympics come to a close next Sunday. At the Calgary Olympics in 1988 the U.S. team won just six medals…total.



Obviously, these world-class athletes are focused on the task at hand until their events are complete, but this is one fun with numbers course I can get interested in. Enjoy all of the excitement and thrills the Olympics provide while you can Reader, because it sure seems as though the athletes are…and more power to them! USA! USA! USA!