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Before the SEC


Ball games were a little different during Mayan times, but I'm sure they were just as exciting as they are today.


Chichen Itza has a huge ball court, and history tells us that players came many miles to compete.  It was a game similar to soccer.


The teams didn't have a regular season, but played when the stars and planets were in the proper positions.

The object of the game was to get the ball through these rings in the wall.  The ball was made from the fruit of Manilkara chicle, the same source of our Chiclets chewing gum.


Here's where it gets a little crazy.  The captain of the winning team, because he had proven he was the best in the land, was promptly sacrificed to their gods.  The carvings in the photo above tells the story of these sacrifices.  Wonder if many of them lost the game on purpose?



Below, another snake guards the stadium carvings.


 And we think football is too rough.
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