"People need to know that we, as Americans, appreciate the world," U.S. fan Fred Danbank said of the sign he displayed Saturday night at the Winter Olympics' figure skating venue.

“We’re on a world platform here right now,” said Danbank, 61, an insurance executive who plans to retire at the end of the year. “And people need to know that we, as Americans, appreciate the world, we love the world, and we want to be part of the world.”

Lest he be dismissed as a flighty lefty, Danbank revealed some details about his family’s political history. “I was 40 years a Republican,” he said. “My whole life, I’ve been a Republican. My father was a Republican.”