Tattoos and Basketball

Tonight is the Tennessee vs Kentucky basketball game in Knoxville. GO VOLS! And one thing that stands out as I watch the game on ESPN, besides Bruce Pearl's Tennessee Orange blazer, is the amount of tattoos some of the players have. They have them everywhere, arms, legs, shoulders, necks, one guy even has one on his face.

Not the I have anything against tattoos, I happen to have one myself. I skipped math class one day my freshman year of college and went with one of my friends to Saint Tattoo, about 45 minutes later I had a tattoo. I can't say it was the best decision I ever made, I probably would have been better off going to math class, but if a tattoo on my lower back is the only permanent scar from my college experience I'm not that bad off. And just to clarify the tattoo is not in the center of my back so it does not qualify as a "tramp stamp", my tattoo is on my lower back above my right hip. I had 2 rules in mind when I was deciding where on my body to have my ink done: #1, it couldn't be anywhere that was visible in a wedding gown, and #2, it had to be easily concealed for job interviews. It's the Chinese symbol for happiness and only about 2.5 inches big. When I first showed my parents my dad said it probably meant "stupid American" but I did some research and it definitely means happiness.

Anyway, back to my observation of basketball players and their tattoos, it seems like the players fall into 2 categories, tattoos covering their entire upper body or no tattoos at all. I just don't get covering every inch of your upper body in tattoos. What happens when your basketball days are over and you have to get a job? I'm thinking wearing a shirt and tie with the top or your "survivor" tattoo peeking out above your tie probably isn't a very good look. Sure those barbed wire bands and intricately designed crosses look great on nice toned muscular arms but how about when your 60 and those muscles aren't as tight? I'm thinking that's not going to be such a good look. I think when it comes to tattoos the less is more philosophy is a good one to follow.