For the Aztecs, the zopilote was a symbol of death and decay, but it also represented abundance and regeneration. The word zopilote comes from the náhuatl roots tzotl, meaning “dirt,” and piloa, “to hang”; from this arose the word tzopilotl, alluding to the filth that hung from the bird’s talons and beak as soon as it finished devouring corpses. As a soccer-playing nahual, Chopernawers presents it as a dangerous rival who knows how to handle anything that stands in its way, especially in its avatar of the King zopilote (the Cozcacuauhtli) or “collared eagle,” a sacred bird associated with Tonatiuh, the Aztec sun god. Thus, no field can tire it, nor goal can stand against it.