Water polo Water polo was a team water sport originating on Earth . It combined the skill of swimming with the basic rule sets and strategies of soccer and hockey . The object of the sport was to score as many goal s as possible , with each goal being worth one point . It was played in a swimming pool that was deep enough at all points " so that no one can touch the bottom " . This naturally forced all players to be in constant motion throughout the match . Players could be temporarily ejected for committing rules violations , or " fouls " , thereby giving the opposing team a strategic advantage . Captain Jonathan Archer called water polo " the best sport in the world " . He avidly followed seasonal progress in the game , especially as practiced by university men ' s teams . He was himself a practitioner of the sport , having competed in the 2134 North American Water Polo Regionals against Princeton . Consequent to a last - minute victory in that match , he also participated in the 2134 finals . He was a particular fan of the Stanford team , favoring them in the 2151 finals over the University of Texas . ( ) He was sent irregular information about current scores through official channels , being updated by both Starfleet Command and their allies , the Vulcan High Command . Sometimes , he would receive recordings of entire matches , like the match he watched on a PADD while forced to stay at the catwalk . ( ) He tried to improve awareness of the sport with his crew members , and was especially driven to inculcate with an appreciation of its strategies . He seemed to warm to the game , but neverless maintained a preference for American football . Archer briefly considered putting a swimming pool on , but dismissed the thought when Tucker reminded him of the consequences of gravity plating failure on water . Instead , Archer ' s main tangible connection to the sport was a water polo ball kept in his quarters aboard " Enterprise " . He would often throw it against the walls of his quarters when trying to think through a problem . He also used it on occasion as a minor test of his crew ' s reflexes , unexpectedly throwing it at them in his quarters . ( ) While forced by Krem to load a Ferengi starship , Archer faked a pulled back muscle , which he claimed he got in an old water polo injury and that flared up every now and then , in an attempt to distract and delay the Ferengi from successfully raiding his ship . ( ) Captain Archer owned a bag with the logo of the " 2134 North American Water Polo Regionals " . Whenever he left the ship for more than a day , he would take the bag with him . ( ) The match had a particular relevance to leadership , as it had taught him the value of believing he would succeed , even when defeat seemed the more likely outcome . ( ) Appendices . Background information . An implication of Archer ' s stated allegiance and history with this sport is that he likely attended Stanford . Dialogue in " Vox Sola " makes it clear that he played for a California n team during his senior year , while a discussion with Phlox in establishes that , prior to the launch of the NX - 01 , Archer had always lived in San Francisco – Stanford is located , about 30 miles south of the city . Despite a brief glimpse of the water polo ball in " Broken Bow " , the first clear reference to Archer ' s enthusiasm for the game is in , when Archer surprises Reed by throwing the ball at him . As his armory officer catches the ball , Archer notes that Reed " would ' ve made a good two - meter man . " In the first draft script of " Strange New World " , Archer instead threw a football at Reed , commented he would " make a fine cornerback , " then proceeded to discuss plans he had in mind for having a game of football on a newly discovered planet . The fact that Texas is included in the finals suggests an expansion of interest in the sport beyond the current reality . At the moment , the Texas team is ineligible for the finals , as it is unrecognized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Moreover , no non - Californian school has ever competed in the finals since their inception in 1969 . According to Scott Bakula , Archer ' s interest in water polo was something added by the writers , specifically Rick Berman , whose son played in the sport . Bakula , who also played polo while growing up , had also pushed the writers for giving Archer a second sport of interest , Lacrosse , which did not come to fruition . At the conclusion of the series , Berman took Archer ' s water polo ball , as a memento . He had previously taken Sisko ' s baseball at the end of . Renowned water polo coach Richard Corso worked as water polo consultant on the episode .