In the summer of 1986, Turner's dream was realized in Moscow. That was the same city that hosted the 1980 Olympics, a slightly less than world-class event due to an American-led boycott. Over 103,000 spectators watched over 3,000 athletes from 79 countries march into that same Olympic Stadium, as the first-ever Goodwill Games began.

The Games themselves, played out over 16 days, went off without a hitch. There were great performances too. The USSR's legendary pole vaulter Sergei Bubka broke the world record for the sixth time with a 19' 8 3/4" jump -- but this one was special, as it was the first time he had broken his own mark in his home nation. American Edwin Moses ran his 400 meter hurdling streak to 111, and Jackie Joyner-Kersee set a women's heptathlon points record. When all was said and done, the Soviets dominated the table, winning 244 medals (118 gold) to the Americans' 140 (42 gold).

But given the founder's primary financial interest, this was a television event first and foremost, and the broadcasts were beamed back to an America hungry for U.S.-Soviet action. Unlike the Olympics, race numbers and uniforms displayed sponsor logos. And to boost the audience numbers in the early days of basic cable, Turner allowed independent over-the-air stations to play the broadcasts. Audiences were treated to prime time blocks stuffed with coverage ranging from cycling to diving to swimming to weightlifting... to a time-honored ratings-grabber from the Winter Olympics, figure skating. In a nod to the founder of the Olympic Games, Turner included the sport that Coubertin himself invented, the modern pentathlon.

Space peace at the 1986 opening ceremony

The men's basketball event was actually the FIBA world championships, which produced an amazing American-Soviet final. The gold was won narrowly by the U.S.A. in a tight 87-85 decision, as the U.S.S.R. rallied from 18 points down with eight minutes to go. The announcers kept mentions of the actual site location -- Madrid, Spain -- to a confusing minimum.

But that was just the tip of the weirdness iceberg. The official demonstration sport was motoball -- men on specially-designed motorbikes maneuvering a giant ball around a field, attempting to kick it past goalies who stood upright without bikes of their own. A team of Soviet all-stars swept a European side (5-2 and 7-3), and in what may or may not have been motoball tradition, caviar was served while girls in beaded costumes provided a folk-dancing demonstration during halftime.

Motoball was breathlessly heralded as the sport of the future by the WTBS announcers. "There is a motoball factory in Kovrov," said one. "It does nothing but build motorcycles for motoball." For whatever reason, the sport doesn't even warrant its own Wikipedia entry two decades later.

The closing ceremony was not held at the stadium, but instead occurred at a Moscow concert hall, where 5,000 people witnessed a performance by the Kirov Ballet and a rousing speech from Mr. Turner. "See you in Seattle," was the message... whatever happened in Seoul two years hence, the Goodwill Games would continue on.

It's a stretch to claim that Moscow 1986 did anything to bring about the fully-attended status of Seoul, but in 1990 world events had stripped the Goodwill Games of their social purpose. The Soviet Union was falling apart, and many of the events in Seattle were poorly attended, both by top athletes and fans. The Games held their third get-together in Saint Petersburg, Russia in 1994 -- despite it being the first major summer international sporting event that featured individual republics (instead of a Unified Team), the Goodwill Games had become completely irrelevant.

Thanks in large part to a major advertising push, the GWG got a bit of a boost in 1998 when New York City hosted and drew large crowds. "Goodwill" was recast as a concept that aided impoverished youth worldwide, instead of attempting to soothe frayed foreign relations. While Saint Petersburg 1994 saw the first major world beach volleyball tournament, New York 1998 was the international debut of another eventual Olympic sport, synchronized diving. It was also, notably, the coming-out party for eventual drug-cheat track pariah Marion Jones, who swept the 100 meter-200 meter double in convincing fashion. As a personal witness to the 100 meter final, I can tell you that more than a few knowledgeable spectators were wondering aloud if she would break the men's record someday.

Two years later, what was then AOL Time Warner dared to branch out to winter sports. The inaugural Winter Goodwill Games were held in the Olympic town of Lake Placid, N.Y., where the streets were filled with people eager to relive the glory days of 1980. The competition didn't live up to those lofty standards, however -- the figure skating event, for instance, was a traveling ice show of professionals, but with sham judges.

The final Goodwill Games (though few involved expressly knew it at the time) were held in 2001 in Brisbane, Australia, and the event was cast as an attempt to capitalize on the U.S.-Australia rivalries that had sprung from the Sydney 2000 Games... especially in the swimming pool. But GWG V failed to capture the imagination of the Australian sporting public, and did not register at all with an American audience that had 30 cable sports channels to choose from. After the competitions were over, the Goodwill Games signed off with a website message that stands to this day.

The brainchild of founder Ted Turner, the Goodwill Games began in 1986 in the host city of Moscow, Russia as a way to ease tensions during the Cold War through friendly athletic competition between nations. With the end of the Cold War, the Games' focus shifted toward youth initiatives. Using sports as a way to better young people's lives, the Goodwill Games raised millions of dollars for charity... The camaraderie and friendships developed at this multi-sport event, as well as the memories of a great sporting competition will last a lifetime.

Planned winter and summer gatherings for 2005 (in Phoenix, Arizona and Calgary, Alberta, Canada, respectively ) were cancelled.

The Goodwill Games may not have changed the world, but they provided a spark for international athletics during an awkward time. They did take the politics out of sport, just like Ted Turner intended them to, for a brief and fleeting moment of brilliance. They will not and should not be forgotten... and neither should motoball.

*source: Official Book of the 1986 Goodwill Games