Monday, June 22, 2009

Hockey Tattoo Art. Pass or Fail?

We, as hockey fans, are a crazy bunch. Even the most mild hockey addiction can leave a person glued to the TV as two teams they don't really even care about clash in an epic battle over 2 points. Even a casual fan can be subject to staring at their teams web site in the middle of July, hitting the 'Refresh' button over and over, waiting for news that their favorite player has signed with their favorite team. Then there's the fan that loves his team so much, he needs to pay someone to permanently draw a picture of said team on his body. Now, there's a right way and a wrong way to do that. This post will explore the 'Pass' and 'Fail' world of Hockey Tattoos.


FAIL. It's great that someone loves their team enough to display their logo on their skin, but this is a typical bandwagon move. It says that they're not a fan of the team so much as they're a fan of that years team because they won. Sometimes a logo/cup/date combination is acceptable, but only if that team has always had a strong fan base and that logo/cup/date tattoo is their reward for years of loyalty. Sorry, Tampa Bay fans, but that's just not you guys.


PASS. A fan of hockey and Snoopy. Can't go wrong with that combination. It's pretty generic, even though Snoopy appears to be wearing the New Jersey Devils colors. Even if this persons favorite team moves, folds or he jumps on a bandwagon, this tattoo still works.



FAIL. This guy did the right thing at first. Just got his team's logo tattooed. Then the Caps pulled a fast one on their fans and switched logos and colors. Probably should have just left it. Everyone got the point with the first tattoo. Any hockey fan would recognize it. Sadly, he fell victim to marketing and bought the new logo. Honestly, if you're not an Original 6 team, don't do the logo thing, period. Original 6 logos won't be changing any time soon, but the other 24 can change at any given time. Allow me to suggest "Let's Go Caps" in front of crossed hockey sticks or a goalie mask. Avoid the colors and the logo is you're not a fan of one of the Original 6!


BOTH. I like the idea of honoring your favorite player and all, so that part gets a PASS. However, having an ugly, bald dude permanently drawn onto your skin is a FAIL no matter who it is.






PAS
S. "Forever Habs" gets a PASS because it celebrates a fans dedication to his team and it's tradition of winning. No specific dates. No Cup totals.









PASS. Kept it generic. Like the Canadiens tattoo above, the wearer left out specific dates and cup totals. This tattoo is a celebration of any given Red Wings team, not a specific, successful team.



I'll try to do more tattoo PASS/FAIL articles in the future. It was a lot of fun to research and write about and something tells me this summer will consist of a lot of FAILS coming from the Pennsylvania area.

1 comment:

  1. I don't know about a full PASS on the Red Wings tattoo. It's tilted like 50% of the idiots I see on the road with their F150 cab windows plastered with improperly positioned logos next to Calvin whizzin on something. SO COOL. YES it IS true that the logo had this tilt ('48/'49 and the '72/'73 seasons to be exact) but it was a subtle tilt and no WAY would anyone be paying tribute to those particular Red Wings teams. You - you army of wanna-be Wings fans - remove that shizz immediately or I start scratching in Avs logos with my keys....

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