Throughout his life, Coubertin had an unshakable faith in the ability of sport to transform relationships between people and nurture friendships through contact and interaction.  He believed that all the barriers that separate people and nations—political, religious, economic, and social—could be in some ways overcome as sport served to enhance understanding between teammates and competitors.  Optimistic?  Yes.  Idealistic?  Absolutely.  That was the mindset of Baron Pierre de Coubertin. This quote, which is reflective of many to come, appeared in International Understanding and Contribution to World Peace, a publication produced by the International Olympic Committee Publication in the 1990s.

Response to Dave Christian Jan 5:

So, true, David A Christian.  No question about it.  Coubertin would agree.  While the Olympic Movement was founded as an international platform to unite the world in friendship and peace, Pierre acknowledged that sport could produce, and could be used to produce, the opposite results.  He wrote a good deal about that.  Here’s one relevant passage in which he was explaining his intentions in founding the Games and talking about the use of sports in general:  “But today, as in times gone by, their effect will be beneficial or harmful depending on the use made of them and the direction they are made to take. Athletics can bring into play both the noblest and the basest passions; they can develop the qualities of unselfishness and honor just as much as the love of gain; they can be chivalrous or corrupt, virile or bestial; finally, they can be used to strengthen peace or to prepare for war.”