Thierry Henry, in typical style, articulated just how much an Olympic gold would mean for France.
"If you don't come to such a tournament for the gold," he told the Olympics website, "there is no point coming."
Of course, this seems a rather obvious sentiment. Henry is one of the best players to ever kick a football, which isn't achieved by having an apathetic attitude towards the sport. Elite athletes tend to care.
Still, Olympic soccer remains a confusing thing - a strangely polarizing tournament given the unquestionable prestige of taking home a gold medal, regardless of the sport. And it seems, for this iteration of the tournament, no one is better positioned to do just that than France.
There are undoubtedly some talented teams to be found, which kicks off in earnest Wednesday. But France, in front of the millions of expectant fans, led by a national legend, and buoyed by the deepest squad in the tournament, really should run away with a medal that might just mean a lot more than the football world might have you believe.