Olympiad II took place in Paris, France, in 1900, and water polo had become so popular that it earned the distinction of becoming the first Olympic team sport. The 1900 Olympic water polo tournament attracted little interest in the United States. A trip to Paris would be expensive and because the English rules were used, our team would be forced to play a very different game.
English polo is too tame for American ideas.
Nations did not compete against one another in those early games. Countries were, instead, respresented by private clubs. The nationality of club members was of little importance. An interesting example is Andre Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt's cousin. Andre, a water polo player for the New York Athletic Club, was living in Paris at the time of the 1900 Games and he won a gold medal playing soccer for a French club team.