As the opening of the Paris 1924 Olympic Games approached, Baron Pierre de Coubertin became frustrated with comments some people made about the athletes' behavior.  In his Olympic Memoirs, he recalled “the universal good humor of the athletes” in Paris, and took to task those who considered the athletes too demanding of their hosts.  In the Baron’s opinion, it was just the opposite—and he applauded their ambitions. This passage is taken from the chapter of The Eight Olympiad. 

“Those who describe (the athletes) at every moment as difficult to please are just showing their own ignorance as well as their unawareness of the athletes' continual state of excitement and effervescence on such a solemn occasion as bringing together in one place several thousands of young people for whom the Olympic laurels constitute the supreme sporting ambition.”