KEY POINTS:
You can't get more Kiwi than Mahe Drysdale. Tall and muscular, with a down-on-the-farm accent, he wears the silver fern with heart-bursting pride.
But on the eve of the Games, there was the merest glimpse of the Australian roots of this Melbourne-born, New Zealand-raised champion rower. As he
waxed about the honour of being the New Zealand flag-bearer, and of his hopes for the team, he spoke in a very un-Kiwi way: unblinkingly confident, boldly ambitious and disarmingly honest. There was no hint of shyness, no measure of uncertainty, no holding back.
He spoke of heading out on to the course with the aim of racing as fast as he damn well can; and if anybody could beat him, well, good luck to them. He acknowledged that he had put himself under pressure by taking on the captaincy of the team, but refused to contemplate that as a bad thing.
"It's something I do like, leading by example and it's something I hope I can do," he said. "It's a bit more of a pressure but a good pressure to try and go and lead by example."
And as for how the rest of the team can perform, he didn't flinch. "We're the best-prepared team and we've got the environment in place to do it. You look at how many people we've got in the top three in the world, even in finals. At the Olympic Games if you can make the final, you're a shot. And if we pull off some of the outside medals and win the ones we should be winning, I honestly believe it will be a very, very successful Games."
Exactly the attitude New Zealand needs.
New Zealand has its largest team and will be aiming for its biggest medal haul _ 13 at Seoul in 1988. Ambitious? Sure, but if the Olympics aren't the domain of lofty goals, where is?
Ask Michael Phelps, who will strive for an historic eight golds in the pool, or the US "Redeem Team" aiming to restore American pride on the basketball court. You can bet the blazing 100m sprint trio of Usain Bolt, Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell won't be holding back on the startline at the Birds Nest, nor will world record-holding pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva.
It's also an attitude that Kiwi medal hope Moss Burmester will take to the pool late on Monday night when he begins his fight for 100m and 200m butterfly success.
Most eyes will be on the Chinese. Unlike in Greece four years ago, the stadiums are all sold out as 1.3 billion Chinese swing in behind their team's bid to usurp the United States on the overall medal table. Politics and crass commercialism are a stain on the Olympics. But it's the sporting field all eyes will now turn to in anticipation of the triumphs which will define this generation of Olympians and inspire the next.
When New Zealand tennis pro and first-time Olympian Marina Erakovic spoke yesterday of what the Olympics meant to her, it was a reminder of the Games' mesmerising allure.
She recalled watching opening ceremonies on television as a child, excitedly awaiting the arrival of the New Zealand team in the march-past. She also told of cherishing a pack of souvenir Olympic playing cards she was given on a flight to Australia during the Sydney Games.
"I've still got them _ they're in my bag at the village," she said.
She will go home from Beijing with many more souvenirs.
And with a bit of luck and a lot of hard work, many of her teammates will have the ultimate memento _ a round metal one slung around their necks.
