Mayan Ballplayer Geocoin

To be discovered at as many cache events as possible.

 Recently, I had the opportunity to visit Mexico and while there I visited the Mayan ruin known as Chichen-Itza.  I remember reading about this place in my “Weekly Reader” when I was in 1^st or 2^nd grade and had always been interested in the culture and in the “Mayan Ball Game”.
 
One of the ways that the Mayan peoples competed against each other was by playing the “Game”.  They used a rubber ball, about 20 inches in diameter, to play on a stone court.  (The largest one found so far is located at Chichen-Itza and measures 459 feet by 114 feet.) The court had walls that sloped inward, and hanging high on the walls were stone rings.  Lining the top of the wall were the spectators who most people believe were limited to only the nobility and priests.
The goal of the game was to pass the ball around, without having it touch your hands, and then get the ball to pass through one of the rings.  Since the rings were so high and players were not allowed to use their hands, it was extremely difficult to get the ball through a ring.  In fact, when a player did manage to get a ball through a ring the game usually ended.  
The winners of the game were treated as heroes and given a great feast.  Some historians believe the losers were put to death but others believe that since the Mayan people had such a great faith in the afterlife that the winning team captain was put to death.  This fit in with the Mayan belief that human sacrifice was necessary for the continued success of the peoples' agriculture, trade, and overall health.
I actually bought this coin a few years back before my visit because it reminded me of the stories I had read as a child.  Now it also reminds me of my actual trip to the site of the games.