Facing intense political opposition from the prime minister and government of Greece for the inaugural Olympic Games scheduled less than two years away, Baron Pierre de Coubertin traveled to Athens in November of 1894 to rally the support of the population and the royal family.  As he appealed to the people of Athens, he cleverly played the momentum card, suggesting that the modern sports movement was sweeping the world, which it was, and implying that if they missed the opportunity, someone else would seize their rightful heritage.  At the same time, he reminded the Greeks of their ancient glories and suggested that they could help avoid the problems encountered by their ancestors in Archaic Olympia.  This quote is taken from the baron’s open letter, “Neo-Olympism: Appeal to the People of Athens,” which appeared in Le Messager d’Athènes in 1894.  As history has noted, the people responded and the Games went on.  While it took more than a decade for the Olympic Games to find their legs, the baron was not wrong in proclaiming that the Olympic Movement was fast moving and universal since it expanded inexorably around the world across the next century.

“This movement (athletics) is universal and fast moving. This is where we must remember the lessons of Antiquity. Let us avoid the pitfalls that the experience of your ancestors has shown us.”