大象传媒

As I watched Manchester United beat Wigan, and yet again, I couldn't help but think that by the time they begin yet another defence of the title in mid-August, the Olympic Games will be in full swing.

Hopefully the start of the new will be overshadowed by stories of British success in Beijing. And yes, I am confident our will be among them, deserving a rare flirtation in the limelight.

For many of the 28 Olympic sports, the Games offers a once-every-four-year opportunity for a brief moment in the proverbial sun. If there is some success, suddenly the nation sits up and takes notice. Remember the excitement generated by the .

As an advertising and marketing campaign, you can't beat it. Indeed, I said in a previous blog that Archery GB, the governing body of the sport in Britain, had taken on extra member of staff to cope with the interest during and after Athens, and some people found that hard to believe.

Trust me, it's true, and that is the power of the media - the of the sport during the Games, and the subsequent interest by all parts of the media when you are successful.

When won her archery bronze medal at the Athens Games the attention was most welcome, and the spin-offs terrific.

Clearly, many people enjoyed what they saw when archery featured on TV during the Athens Games, particularly the tension and drama of the head to head knock-out matches, which can swing one way and then the other.

At its most intense, it really is a case of who blinks first! And the good news is that that growth in interest has been sustained year on year since 2004, which is great.

In between the Olympics, media opportunities for are few, and more's the pity.

And that's why I despair when i see footballers taking the media for granted. I often wish they appreciated that it's because of the incredible media thirst for their sport that they (at the top level) .

Other sports can only dream of obtaining a modicum of that profile. And too often, fantastic achievement by so many sportsmen and women - including archers - goes totally unnoticed, buried under the immense weight of newsprint discussing the finer points of 4-4-2, or who Fabio Capello should pick in his next England squad.

So yes, I really do hope that the success of British competitors in Beijing knocks the start of the Premier League off the back pages of the newspapers. And yes, I would be thrilled if people wanted to talk to me about a British archery Olympic success, rather than Manchester United's prospects for a third successive title.

Hopefully, success, and some good British performances, at this week's , France, will be another encouraging step along the road to Beijing.

And if they do win medals, don't worry, I'll keep you posted on this blog, just in case you miss it elsewhere!