A Note on North American Ski Fandom: Why Do You Cheer?

In any given year, readership at FasterSkier can fluctuate wildly depending on what’s going on in the racing world at the time. As you might expect, during Olympic or World Championship years the number of visits to our site skyrocket as the media hype builds leading up to these major events.

This past weekend, as Kikkan Randall (USA) won her second consecutive World Cup, Devon Kershaw (CAN) had one of the best sprints of his career, and Holly Brooks (USA) found herself in 13th in the 15 k on Saturday, there was a significant spike in site traffic.

Such interest has not gone unnoticed by the North Americans currently kickking a** in Europe. As noted in a recap from Sunday, U.S. Ski Team Women’s Head Coach Matt Whitcomb had the following message for the fans rooting for them from afar:

“A shout-out is in order for those back home who represent what certainly appears to be an increase in the U.S. skiing fan base. Your cheers are reaching Europe, and the support is helping drive this team.”

There are many possible reasons for this spike in interest in U.S. and Canadian skiing. Social media might have something to do with it, maybe you want to see your contribution to the Drive for 25 at work, or perhaps it’s the infectiousness of the positive vibe emanating from the athletes in Europe. Regardless of the cause, the numbers don’t lie — North American ski fans are pretty pumped to see their favorite athletes do well on the world stage.

Which leads us to a question for our readers: why are you cheering? Leave your answers in the comments, on Facebook, or send them in to info@fasterskier.com. Or take part in our one-click poll below. We’ll collect your responses and publish them together at a later date.

The reason you’re rooting for the U.S. and Canada doesn’t have to be profound. Sometimes being a fan simply boils down to wanting to be part of something remarkable.

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