The Aztecs loved sports of all kinds. Two of their favorite athletic competitions were the ball games and the flying birds. As much as they enjoyed the flying birds, the ball games were probably the most popular. And probably the most dangerous.
The Aztecs had professional ball players. The best players were treated like super stars.
Every town and village in the Aztec empire had a ball court. But of course, the biggest and best was in the capital city.
The goal of the game was simple. There were two ways to get points. The team with the most points won. Each team tried to get a rubber ball across the center line into their opponents side. Your team got even more points for putting the rubber ball through one or both of the two hoops that hung down the center of the court. You tried to accomplish this, and the opposite team tried to stop you.
It was really hard to get a ball through a hoop. The hoops were fixed about 10 feet above the ball court. And each hoop was only about a foot wide. Most points were made by getting the ball over the middle line.
There were no rules about you could be stopped from making points. Many players were injured playing Aztec ball.