I’ve loved the Olympics ever since I was a kid. My first memory of the international sporting spectacle was of the archer lighting the cauldron in Barcelona in 1992.

It always seemed odd that for a couple of weeks every four years the world cared about sports and athletes that barely raised an eyebrow at any other time.

Take road walking, for example.

In 1999 you wouldn’t have known, much less cared, who our representatives were in these sports, but when the Sydney Olympics rolled around, everyone in green and gold became a star for a day. 

Some Olympic athletes etch their names into the national consciousness with medal winning performances, but the majority toil away in anonymity for most of their careers. The spotlight doesn’t come too often despite an immense amount of sacrifice and hard work.

At the weekend the Australian Olympic Committee gave its latest medal forecast for the London games and it didn’t make for pretty reading.

Australia wants a top five finish on the medal tally, but that appears to be a fading dream.

The Aussies are expected to field their smallest squad in 20 years if the men’s football and volleyball teams don’t qualify.

That would mean less than 400 athletes for the first time since the Barcelona games.

The target for London is 35 medals and the mark is based on performances at international competitions.

It would be the lowest total since Australia finished 10th on the tally in Barcelona with 27 medals.

Sydney provided a bench mark not only for every other Olympic city, but also every other Australian team.

The Aussies won a whopping 58 medals on home soil on the back of record funding levels for our athletes.

That has since dropped away, but every host city spends up big to impress the world before cutting back.

The questions is this: Do you care how we perform in London?

I don’t mean stand up on your couch and scream for two minutes before getting on with your day.

I’m talking about the kind of passion that cares whether or not Australia is one of the best sporting nations in the world at one of the biggest sporting events in the world.

It irks me to see an Australian athlete finish second in anything. I don’t care if it’s marbles. I want our men and women on that podium.

London is fast approaching and if, as expected, we fall outside the top five on the medal tally will it dent your national pride?

We’re subject to so much sport now that almost every spot in the calendar is filled. 

It’s easy for us to move on to another code and hope for the best with our chosen team there. The Olympics has always been special to me, though, and i’d hate to think it’s becoming less important in the grander scheme of things.

Consistent performance will only come about through consistent funding. The AOC is set to ask the federal government to review funding for elite sport after the London Olympics.

I hope they get everything they need.