KEY POINTS:
Beach volleyball one day, basketball the next, a midnight souvlaki washed down without guilt; the Athens Olympics were a dream experience for Ryan Archibald, or so it might seem.
In fact, Athens was a sporting nightmare that four years on the men's hockey captain is keen to forget.
Spectator and part-time television commentator was Archibald's lot in Greece, after a leg broken eight weeks before the Games ruled him out of action.
Archibald made it as far as the athletes village, and even unpacked as he attempted to defy medical logic.
Sanity eventually prevailed and striker David Kosoof took his room keys, a reluctant exchange that gave Archibald the freedom of the city.
"I stayed with my step father - we found a hotel and watched a few sports if we could get tickets," said Archibald, reminiscing on his bittersweet experience.
"I saw some athletics, beach volleyball, the Tall Blacks...and a lot of hockey.
"I even did a little bit of commentary, it was great watching the guys play - and play well.
"I thought they had a good tournament but it was also frustrating being there and not being able to take part."
Archibald, 27, cast an envious eye from a distance, deliberately steering clear of his teammates.
"I felt better to let them focus on what they were doing and for me to sit and spectate."
In China, the 207-cap midfielder will be in the side's inner circle, as the Black Sticks bid to improve on their sixth placing in Athens.
He is one of eight players in the side to have notched a century of caps, giving him a measure of security ahead of pool matches against Germany, Spain, Korea, Belgium and hosts China.
Eight have also experienced the Olympic experience. In Athens only Umesh Parag (Atlanta 1996) had a sense of how a Games differs from international tournaments such as the Champions Trophy.
"Our experience in the team is quite phenomenal. We average 113 caps per player," Archibald said.
Loathe to draw comparisons with the 2004 squad, Archibald rated the current version as boasting more genuine game breakers.
Phil Burrows had matured into a senior striker in world hockey, Blair Hopping a world class defender. Olympic newcomer Simon Child has emerged as a potent goal creator and poacher.
Archibald wouldn't include himself as an improvement but his record speaks for itself.
A finalist in the international player of the year awards, Archibald is obviously highly motivated to perform on the sport's biggest stage.
"It's a huge tournament and it's pretty much been a dream to go to the Olympics," Archibald said.
"It's always been a goal and as soon as I missed out on Athens I pretty quickly decided to carry on to Beijing.
"I was also given the captaincy soon after so I focused on being a leader in the team and do my best to help the team reach China."
Part of his plan to be in tip-top shape involved a shift to the Dutch league and powerhouse Rotterdam for the last two seasons.
"I felt the best way to improve my game and to learn was to go and play in a really strong hockey environment and the Dutch league is the strongest around," he explained.
"It's a good way to develop my own game and learn new things. It's a small sport in New Zealand - there's only so many coaches and so many decent players to play against."
Burrows and Dean Couzins have followed his lead, while Child will be joining the Black Sticks' ex-pat European community for the first time.
Archibald, part of the squad which failed to qualify for Sydney in 2000, suspected Beijing may be a one-off, after waiting so long to emulate his father Jeff, one of the gold-medal winning team at Montreal in 1976.
"I won't retire after it but I may give it some thought as to whether I carry on to the next World Cup in 2010.
"It might depend how successful we are in Beijing, whether it's worth another four year slog to London."
- NZPA
