History of Aztec Ball Game for Kids

I stumbled across this webpage when searching for games played in the past.  The entry on the Aztec ball game was clearly meant for kids.  Information about the game was simplified and filtered for children.  This line from the website works to connect the past to the present for kids by comparing it to concepts they already understand: "The best players were treated like super stars, similar to the way we treat our best athletics today."

What wasn't mentioned was the consequences of losing the game: sacrifice.  Clearly the authors didn't want to scar kids' minds too much.  The whole entry had a very optimistic ring to it, illustrated by this line: "The game was exciting because you always had a chance to win no matter how far behind your score was at any one time."  But that's why sports are any sort of interesting at all!  This sentence describes any generic sport, really.

So why are things that may be considered a little violent not suitable for kids?  If we analyze how much kids are already exposed to violence in the form of movies, video games, and cartoons, isn't it okay for them to learn that the losers of the ball game were sacrificed?  It was an important part of Aztec culture and we really shouldn't just pick and choose what we want to learn about them.

Look at how happy the Aztec ball players are!  It's such a fun game... that's played to the death.