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The permanent fan: passionate enough to put it in ink

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The permanent fan: passionate enough to put it in ink

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Content THE PERMANENT FAN: PASSIONATE ENOUGH TO PUT IT IN INK by Emily Ann Wilson A Professional Multimedia Project Presented to the FACULTY OF THE USC GRADUATE SCHOOL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree MASTER OF ARTS (ONLINE JOURNALISM) May 2012 Copyright 2012 Emily Ann Wilson ii Table of Contents List of Figures iii Abstract v Chapter One: The Psychology: Why Get a Sports Tattoo? 1 Chapter One Endnotes 10 Chapter Two: History of the American Tattoo 11 Introduction: The First Known Tattoos 11 Tattoos Come West 12 The Tattoo in America 13 Birth of the Modern Tattoo 15 Chapter Two Endnotes 19 Chapter Three: Tattoo Culture in the NBA 21 Chapter Three Endnotes 28 Chapter Four: When You Rethink the Ink 30 Chapter Four Endnotes 35 Bibliography 36 Appendices Appendix A: Visual Breakdown of Project Website 39 Appendix B: Audio Slideshow Summary 43 Appendix C: Timeline Summary 46 Appendix D: Video Summaries 49 Appendix E: Photograph Summaries 56 iii List of Figures Figure 1: Darlene “Lakers” portrait 3 Figure 2: Darlene “Lakers” tattoo 3 Figure 3: Alex Sanchez tattoo 5 Figure 4: Pew Research Center chart 5 Figure 5: Josh Degroat tattoo shin 8 Figure 6: Josh Degroat tattoo calf 8 Figure 7: Modern tattoo machine 16 Figure 8: Screenshot of online timeline 21 Figure 9: Eli Morris portrait 30 Figure 10: Screenshot removal video 32 Figure 1A: Screenshot homepage top 39 Figure 2A: Screenshot homepage middle 39 Figure 3A: Screenshot homepage bottom 40 Figure 4A: Screenshot About page 40 Figure 5A: Screenshot Photos page 41 Figure 6A: Screenshot Articles page 42 Figure 7A: Screenshot Photos page 42 Figure 1B: Screenshot Eli Morris portrait 43 Figure 2B: Screenshot Morris tattooing 44 Figure 3B: Screenshot Morris quote 44 Figure 4B: Screenshot Morris art work 45 iv Figure 1C: Screenshot timeline beginning 46 Figure 2C: Screenshot timeline 1993 47 Figure 3C: Screenshot timeline 2005 48 Figure 1D: Screenshot video Lopez 49 Figure 2D: Screenshot video Strawsburg 50 Figure 3D: Screenshot video Vidrio 51 Figure 4D: Screenshot video Darlene 52 Figure 5D: Screenshot video Degroat 53 Figure 6D: Screenshot video Thomas and Jose 54 Figure 7D: Screenshot video Sanchez 55 Figure 1E: Screenshot photo one 56 Figure 2E: Screenshot photo two 57 Figure 3E: Screenshot photo three 58 v Abstract This is a multimedia examination of why certain sports fans choose to get tattoos representative of their favorite teams. Eight fans of Los Angeles area sports teams are featured in video shorts, each sharing why their personal connection to a team was powerful enough to incite a tattoo. As demonstrated throughout, there are unique reasons to get such tattoos, but there are common themes that permeate from fan to fan regardless of sport, gender, profession or background. Along with the videos, this project is hosted on a website that includes four written articles, photographs, an audio slideshow and an interactive timeline, all providing a balanced look and analysis of tattoo culture at large—and more specifically, of tattoo culture as it relates to sports. As the backbone of the project, the four articles aim to unfold the layers of sports fandom that lead to such permanent action, being sure to understand how these layers and the common themes from fan to fan relate to the history of tattooing as a form of both practical and artistic human expression. And as tattooing further relates to sports, it’s important to consider how the modern tattoo has come of age and grown more acceptable alongside the game of basketball and the National Basketball Association, a league in which around 80% of the players are tattooed. Lastly, while tattooing is still considered a permanent choice by most, that notion is less and less true as laser removal techniques become safer, more affordable and increasingly widespread. Even so, the fans featured throughout this project view their own tattoos as permanent and see them as the definitive way to prove their fandom indisputably. 1 Chapter One The Psychology: Why Get a Sports Tattoo? On the subject of tattooing, Charles Darwin, the man who so closely studied the earth’s species, said: “There is no nation on earth that does not know this phenomenon.” i That cultural commonality has led some experts to suggest that the urge to, the desire to and the action of getting a tattoo are all natural to human beings and perhaps even innate within—a form of self-expression that is deeply meaningful. The pervasiveness of adorning one’s self with permanent body art spans cross culturally throughout history, with each culture dipping into the ink at various times and for various reasons. Egyptologist Dr. Joann Fletcher is one such expert, believing that history proves human beings are hardwired to mark their bodies, although the reasons for doing so vary. “Clothing and hairstyles are widely used for such self-expression and easy to change, but to actually transform the body in a more permanent way is going that step further. It’s a desire to stand out for some reason or make a public statement in some way,” she says. ii That desire, and the marks that are born of it, are part of what define humanity, according to author Jean-Chris Miller. iii “(Tattoos) are a means of self-expression and a vehicle of self-awareness, two qualities that separate us from other living things on this planet,” he writes. iii 2 For the sports fan specifically, there is not one concrete reason he or she gets a team tattoo. In fact, the reasons for doing so could span as greatly as the history of tattooing itself. Psychologist Dr. Lawrence Rubin has written about the social perceptions of tattooing and is carefully aware that each person’s reason to get tattooed is their own. “I’ve come to appreciate the importance of each person’s unique story and each person’s unique motivations for doing something," he says. iv But there are common, overlapping motivators that drive fans toward permanence and that separate the more casual fan from the tattooed. According to Rubin, there are no motivators larger than the desire to establish identity. “Tattooing and body modification are simple variants of the expression of the questions: who am I? How am I unique? How do I fit in?” he says. The sports fan could, at least in part, answer those questions by declaring: I am a Lakers fan. I am a Dodgers fan. I am a Galaxy fan. That tattoo could be about identifying with the team itself, the players and/or with other fans. Los Angeles Lakers fan Darlene is certainly no stranger to identifying with her favorite team. She lives in Seattle but loves the Lakers with a passion no doubt stronger than many living in the team's hometown of Los Angeles. She actually prefers to be called Darlene "Lakers" and claims she will legally change her last name to the team's name if she's unmarried by 30 years old. She's 24 now and has the team's logo tattooed above her right ankle. v 3 She got the small black inked tattoo of the team’s classic logo to prove the type of fan she is. Figure 1: Darlene "Lakers" portrait Figure 2: Darlene "Lakers" tattoo 4 “I don’t want to be the band wagon hopper. This will help everybody else understand that, hey, she really is a true Lakers fan," she says. v That desire to identify as a “true” fan can often create a paradox for the tattooed fan, as it represents the dual desire to prove greater dedication than the casual supporter while also aiming to affiliate with that same supporter. The work of Dr. Daniel Wann, author of Sport Fans: The Psychology and Social Impact of Spectators and a professor of psychology at Murray State University, leads to the same conclusion, that identity is a telling and common motivator to becoming a sports fan—and especially to becoming a serious sports fan. “For highly identified fans, being a fan of a certain team is a central component of their social identity,” he says. “Moderately identified fans might stop at wearing the team’s hat or jacket, but a highly identified fan will take it a step further and make the presentation permanent in the form of a tattoo.” vi That is true for Lakers fan Alex Sanchez, who has the team's name tattooed in purple and yellow graffiti-style lettering on his arm, alongside the National Basketball Association's championship trophy. He owns and regularly wears Lakers hats, shirts and shoes, but the tattoo can't be taken off for work or school or for any other possible situation or scenario. vii To those who may question his level of dedication to the team, he provides the following answer: “I always have my Lakers gear on," he says. vii 5 Figure 3: Alex Sanchez tattoo Sanchez and all other fans featured throughout this project are Millennials, or those born between 1980 and 2001. As demonstrated on the chart below, according to a Pew Research Center study published in 2010, it is far more common for Millennials to get tattoos than for members of previous generations to do so. Increasingly, tattooing is a way for them to establish identity and make facets of their lives visual and obvious to others with a single glance at their skin. viii Figure 4: Pew Research Center chart 6 This rise in popularity among Millennials can be attributed to society's growing acceptance of tattooing in general. For a Boomer, a tattoo could have also been about identity, but this association of identity would have most likely rested out of his or her control. Stereotypes that tattoos were for bikers, gang members, ex-inmates or otherwise aggressive individuals would have worked to automatically identify them as such, even if untrue. ix But that is no longer. For the Millennial, those stereotypes do not hold sway over popular opinion any more, making room for individuals to get tattoos that don't automatically place them in predetermined societal categories but instead allow the tattoo's content in and of itself to create a more personalized category. Beyond identity, understanding the basic driving factors of sports fandom will help better comprehend a fan’s enthusiasm toward tattooing, according to Dr. Wann. He notes that socialization and motivation are two other consistent factors at play in the making of a sports fan. Socialization is a fairly simple concept—the fan was raised in an environment that instilled and fostered the fandom. Motivation can be more complex, possibly including any or a combination of the following: “stress, self-esteem, escape, entertainment, economics, aesthetics, group affiliation, and family needs,” as detailed in Dr. Wann’s published study Preliminary Motivation of the Sport Fan Motivation Scale. x The study details that stress is a motivator because it can “arouse (the) senses and provide the stress (the fans) seek.” x 7 B.J. Bueno, co-author of the book The Power of Cult Branding, has written articles specifically about fans with brand tattoos and agrees that stress relief is often a significant motivator for sports fans to take action. “The struggles of every day life are projected onto the mini drama that’s played out into a two-hour event, where there’s a clear winner and a clear loser and you have a good dramatic structure. People can have very strong emotions towards these games,” he says. xi That analysis coincides with Dr. Wann’s conclusion that ‘escape’ is also a motivation toward sports fandom. Escaping into the drama and stress of that two-hour game provides a two-hour respite from personal drama and stress. Soccer fan Josh Degroat turned toward the Los Angeles Galaxy when he felt that his own life had spun out of control. His brother died suddenly and he got addicted to cocaine as a means of trying to cope with the heartbreak. But something clicked when went to a Galaxy game during that time. He'd already been a casual fan of the team, but he began going to games more often and realized that they and the camaraderie amongst the Galaxy fans were making him happy again. xii He and a small group of friends started the Angel City Brigade, a Galaxy fan group that has now grown to nearly 1,000 members. The Brigade gathers before every home game for tailgating and sits together inside the stadium to sing and chant and cheer throughout the game. Degroat considers these people his family now and credits them with curbing his cocaine addiction on the merit that he found something "he was more addicted to." xii 8 “In the darkest place I was, it was something to look forward to, something happy,” says Degroat. His tattoos celebrate those feelings. He got a large, brightly colored Galaxy logo tattooed on the shin of his right leg and followed that with a tattoo commemorating the Angel City Brigade on the calf of that same leg. Figure 5: Josh Degroat tattoo shin Figure 6: Josh Degroat tattoo calf 9 For Degroat and others, ‘self-esteem,’ as Dr. Wann notes, is also a significant motivator toward fandom and can play out in two ways. There are associated feelings of accomplishment when the team wins and/or there are feelings of acceptance and membership as part of the team’s wider fan base. “The desire to maintain group contacts and seek refuge from feelings of alienation are primary in their reasons for being a fan,” according to Wann's study. x In these ways, a brand or team tattoo becomes the physical embodiment of a desired feeling, according to B.J. Bueno. “It’s a little of what psychologists would call projection," he says. "All of the sudden the object doesn’t just mean a game or a team, it now represents a desired feeling." xi For these fans, it is then likely that their favorite team's name or logo doesn’t only represent that team, but instead also embodies feelings, attachments, desires, happiness, triumphs, dedication and more. The more powerful that desired feeling becomes in a fan's life, the more likely the person is to get its representation tattooed on his or herself. “I’ve spent a lot of time with hardcore fans of brands and each of them has a very unique story. I think the underlying psychological reasons (to get the tattoo) are similar,” said Bueno. “I think it’s an emotional thing rather than intellectual. It’s a little bit more unconscious. It just goes so deep.” xi 10 Chapter One Endnotes i Henk Schiffmacher and Burkhard Riemschneider, Tattoos, (New York: TASCHEN, April 2001) p. 2 ii Fletcher, Joann. Email interview. 2 Feb. 2012. iii Jean-Chris Miller, The Body Art Book: A Complete, Illustrated Guide to Tattoos, Piercings, And Other Body Modifications, (New York: Berkley Publishing Group, July 2004) p. 1 iii Ibid. p. 1 iv Rubin, Lawrence. Phone interview. Jan. 2012. v “Lakers,” Darlene. Personal interview. 16 Jan. 2012. v Ibid. vi Wann, Daniel. Email interview. 16 Feb. 2012. vii Sanchez, Alex. Personal interview. 20 Feb. 2012. vii Ibid. viii Taylor, Paul and Scott Keeter (editors). Millennials: A Portrait of Generation Next. Feb. 2010. Pew Research Center. Jan. 2012 <http://pewsocialtrends.org/files/2010/10/millennials-confident-connected- open-to-change.pdf> ix Guerrero, Lisa and David J. Leonard. “Permanent Markers: Race and Cultural Politics of Tattoos.” New Black Man. 11 Nov. 2011. 03 Feb. 2012 <http://newblackman.blogspot.com/2011/11/permanent-markers- race-cultural.html> x Wann, Daniel, “Preliminary Validation of the Sport Fan Motivation Scale,” Journal of Sport and Social Issues (1995): 377-396. x Ibid. p. 377 xi Bueno, B.J. Phone interview. 8 Feb. 2012. xii Degroat, Josh. Personal interview. Nov. 2012. xii Ibid. x Ibid. p. 378 xi Ibid. xi Ibid. 11 Chapter Two The History of the American Tattoo The universality of tattooing is a curious subject for speculation. – Captain James Cook, 1779 Introduction: The First Known Tattoos While humans were cave painting, they were also tattooing. The art form has proven roots in the depths of humankind’s history. It is a form of expression and communication that has endured decade after decade and has trekked across every span of geography. It serves as both a thriving art form in modern society and a way to study and understand the many cultures that make up the species’ collective past. Tools used for tattooing have been discovered on archaeological digs and have been dated back to as old as 38,000 years. i The oldest known examples of tattoos on the body were found on Otzi the “Ice Man", a Bronze Age mummy discovered by two German tourists in 1991 in the Otztal Alps, along the Austrian-Italian border. The “Ice Man” had 57 tattoos, most of which were found on his lower back, behind his knees and on his right ankle—all in the forms of dots, stripes and simple crosses. His birth has been dated to 3300 B.C. ii “The tattoos could have been ornamental, or perhaps they marked his status in his tribe. It is more likely they were healing or protective talismans used to prevent pain in those areas of his body,” wrote author Jean-Chris Miller. ii Egyptologist Dr. Joann Fletcher spoke about the "Ice Man" during an interview with The Smithsonian Institute in 2007, in which she corroborates and expands upon Miller’s theory. 12 "The distribution of the tattooed dots and small crosses on his lower spine and right knee and ankle joints correspond to areas of strain-induced degeneration, with the suggestion that they may have been applied to alleviate joint pain and were therefore essentially therapeutic,” she explained. iii Although the exact historical reasons are not entirely definitive, it is generally agreed upon that ancient tattooing, as seen on the “Ice Man,” on Egyptian mummies, amongst Maori tribes, in early Polynesian cultures and elsewhere, served considerably, if not entirely, practical purposes like preventing illness, encouraging fertility, preserving family histories, or establishing societal status, among others purposes. All of this was done on the skin, establishing a permanent record during a time when visual literacy held prominence over the written word. Tattoos Come West Regardless of the reasoning behind the various tattoos, the body markings themselves provide a link between cultures and continuity amongst the human race throughout history. While tattooing has well-documented histories in ancient Egypt, Siberia, Japan, South America, the Pacific and elsewhere, the word “tattoo” does not enter the English language until 1771. And it does not gain traction into the wider cultural consciousness until later still. The actual word comes from the Tahitian term "tatatau" or "tattau," meaning to hit or strike. iv 13 Captain James Cook manned multiple now-famous voyages to Polynesia at that time, during which he and his crew encountered what he referred to in his diary as people that “print signs on people’s bodies.” v Cook's voyages, writings, and the fact that many of his crew members returned with tattoos and stories of their own, has led history to conclude that this sparked the beginning of the Western tattoo, which would soon make its way to American shores via Europe. But in Tattoo: Bodies, Art, and Exchange in the Pacific and the West, the following questions are posed: Just what kind of ‘beginning’ was it that modern tattooing had in the meetings between late eighteenth-century mariners and Polynesians such as Tahitians and Maori? Was this a beginning at all, or really rather a moment of stimulation, that saw an external influence reinvigorating a marginal or latent aspect of the culture of the body in Europe? iv Whether these journeys represent a foundation or a resurgence leading to the modern tattoo, the mariners returning to Europe with exotic tales of tattoos received by Pacific Islanders sparked a “much wider tattoo fashion among mariners generally, which subsequently spread beyond maritime populations.” iv The Tattoo in America Tattoos began appearing in America in the early 1800’s, mostly on the bodies of sailors and coal miners, professionals that sacrificed their personal safety on a daily basis. Because of that, they tattooed anchors and miner’s lamps on their arms in talisman-like fashion to symbolically ward off harm. 14 Also around this time, in the early 1800’s, it became popular for the upper classes in Europe to get small tattoos emulating the ones on these sailors returning from faraway lands “as a way to vicariously live a small bit of the wild stories these men would tell.” ii But while a fascination with tattooing was certainly still viable in the years following those journeys, a willingness to get them done was not, at least among the common classes. In fact, the art form soon turned into a literal freak show. Tattooing hit the American circus circuit in the late 1800’s. While sailors and marines were largely responsible for bringing tattoos to America, circus performers toured them across the country vi These permanent markings, which often mimicked tattooing’s primitive origins, were fascinating and shocking to the paying, often puritanical customers at the circus. , providing a traveling place for ordinary people to stare and marvel at tattoos without having to get too close. It was still, at this time, a thing very much outside the norm and perhaps only moving further from it—although exposure to it continued to expand. vii Journalist Alexis Keinlen wrote about the inspiration for tattooing among women during that period, which often started with spousal collaboration. “North American and European women entered the world of circus sideshows as tattooed ladies. Many of them were married to tattooists and became walking advertisements for the work of their husbands." viii 15 Birth of the Modern Tattoo In 1891, Samuel O’Reilly invented the electric tattoo machine—basing the invention on a machine previously built and patented by Thomas Edison intended for embroidering fabric. ii “O'Reilly modified Edison's machine by changing the tube system and modifying its rotary-driven electromagnetic oscillating unit to enable the machine to drive the needle,” according to writer Tracy V. Wilson. ix He began using the machine at his very own “tattoo parlor," located in New York City—the first such parlor in the United States. The electric tattoo machine remains largely unchanged from its original model, although improved over time. In the late 1800’s, it marked a staggering improvement over some of the original tattooing instruments, one of which could be “best described as a sharp point set in a wooden handle,” and dated to 3000 B.C. iii For another example, certain instruments dated to 1450 B.C. looked like wide, flattened needles and “if tied together in a bunch...would provide repeated patterns of multiple dots,” according to Egyptologist Dr. Joann Fletcher. iii The new machine made tattooing faster, easier and more accessible. And with tattoo parlors—designated places to get work done, get it done safely and discuss the art form with others—O’Reilly set the stage for the emergence of the modern tattoo in America as it began moving away from the fringes and into the mainstream. 16 Figure 7: Modern tattoo machine (via Creative Commons) “Soon tattoo parlors were springing up all over the country—mainly in port towns to serve their naval clientele. With the advent of the First and Second World Wars, different branches of the military adopted the sailors’ tradition of tattooing as a means of mystical protection, a souvenir or remembrance,” according to author Jean-Chris Miller. ii Tattooing was also popular in prisons around this time, with prisoners getting tattoos to demonstrate toughness, to signify gang membership or to divulge information about committed crimes. In part because of that, society developed impressions of the tattoo as a signifier of toughness and aggression. Those impressions were softened to a degree by the American sexual revolution of the 1960s, a time during which people got tattoos as a means of creative self-expression, sometimes in more abstract and less practical ways. These tattoos were, for some, more relatable than the criminal’s tattoo, the marine’s war commemoration or the circus woman’s exhibitions. The early 1980’s brought the first convergence of tattooing and fine art, when artists like Ed Paschke and Tony Fitzgerald began to use tattoo imagery in their paintings, 17 while still others began to explore tattooing as a new way to artistically express themselves. Author Jean-Chris Miller notes that this period is referred to as the “New School,” when artists began to view tattooing as a valid art form and started sharing their knowledge with others in parlors, at conventions and in publications. Those outside the artist community began to take notice of the emerging scene and along with that, recognition fascination began paving the way for still increased mainstream acceptance. There was suddenly a new and elaborately expanding palette of possibilities: new colors, new styles and new imagery seemingly for everyone. And to the present, the possibilities and popularity of tattooing have not stopped expanding. A 2010 study by the Pew Research Center on the behaviors of those born between 1980 and 2000, titled Millennials: A Portrait of Generation Next, detailed that for those currently between the ages of 18-29, body art is more popular than ever; 38% reported to have at least one tattoo. x And quite often, just one tattoo isn’t enough for the Millennial, either. Fifty percent of tattooed Millennials have two to five tattoos and 18% have six or more. Men and women are equally likely to have tattoos, according to the research. x In an interview for this project, Psychologist Lawrence Rubin commented on tattooing as an act of social deviance, noting that it certainly can no longer be considered deviant from a statistical standpoint. But the high numbers do lead him to wonder if society is experiencing a tattooing bubble, one that could eventually burst—although he doesn’t think this will happen soon. 18 “I think society is fascinated by it and for that reason…it will continue to grow until we move on to something else. I think we’re going to see more before we see less,” he said. Whether humankind continues tattooing in increasing numbers or if the now- growing trend calms down to some degree, one thing remains certain: the art of tattooing will not go away entirely. Used for practical purposes or artistic expression, ink on the skin is a permanent human trait. 19 Chapter Two Endnotes i Vanishing Tattoo: The World’s Largest Online Tattoo Museum. Ed. Jack Silberman. 2011. 1 Feb. 2012. <http://www.vanishingtattoo.com/tattoo_museum/upper_paleolithic.html> ii Miller, Jean-Chris, The Body Art Book: A Complete, Illustrated Guide to Tattoos, Piercings, And Other Body Modifications, (New York: Berkley Publishing Group, July 2004) p. 7 ii Ibid. p. 7 iii Lineberry, Cate. “Tattoos: The Ancient and Mysterious History” Smithsonian Magazine. Ed. Michael Caruso. 1 Jan. 2007. Smithsonian Institution. 22 Jan. 2012. <http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history- archaeology/tattoo.html> iv Thomas, Nicholas, Anna Cole, and Bronwen Douglas (editors), Tattoo: Bodies, Art, and Exchange in the Pacific and the West (Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 2005) p. 7 v Tahiti Tatou: Polynesian Tribal Tattoo Worldwide Guide. 2008. 1 Feb. 2012. <http://www.tahititatou.com/history.html> iv Ibid. p. 11 iv Ibid. p. 11 ii Ibid. p. 10-11 vi Krcmarik, Katharine. “Attitudes About Tattooing: Attitudes in the 1800s,” Ed. Katharine Krcmarik. 2003. Michigan State University. 1 Feb. 2012. <https://www.msu.edu/~krcmari1/individual/att_1800.html> vii Tattoo Traveling. Northern Illinois University. 16 Feb. 2012. <https://sites.google.com/site/tattootraveling> viii Keinlen, Alexis. “Skin deep: tattoos mark the body’s surface. But their inspiration draws from a deeper source.” Herizons Magazine. Ed. Penni Mitchell. 22 Sept. 2005. 12 Feb. 2012. <http://www.herizons.ca/node/200> ii Ibid. p. 13 ix Wilson, Tracy V. “How Tattoos Work.” 01 April 2000. HowStuffWorks.com. Discovery Communications. 02 March 2012. <http://health.howstuffworks.com/skin-care/beauty/skin-and-lifestyle/tattoo.htm> iii Ibid. p. 7 iii Ibid. p. 11 ii Ibid. p. 13 x Taylor, Paul and Scott Keeter (editors). Millennials: A Portrait of Generation Next. Feb. 2010. Pew Research Center. Jan. 2012 <http://pewsocialtrends.org/files/2010/10/millennials-confident-connected- open-to-change.pdf> 20 x Ibid. 21 Chapter Three Tattoo Culture in the NBA Figure 8: Screenshot of online timeline Basketball is an intimate game by nature. It is, for the most part, equipment free and in your face. High paying fans literally sit on the edge of the court, and most other fans are not far away. When comparing the basketball fan experience with the gigantic reality of a football arena, the Plexiglas blockades at a hockey game or the dirt filled distances between player and fan in a baseball stadium, basketball offers the most up close experience of all. At a game hosted by the National Basketball Association (NBA), some 20,000 eager fans pack around a small 90 feet by 50 feet court, watching players that wear no helmets, no hats and nothing at all to cover their heads or in any way disguise their faces. 22 The uniforms, consisting only of shorts and tank tops, give a mostly uninhibited view of the body, with no gear to hide the player from the watchful eye of the fan. The ball is large, constantly visible, always moving and easy to track. And television coverage of basketball games is personal too. Close up shots are provided, putting on display emotional reactions, painful grimaces, exploits of flagrant language, joyous celebration and more—all easy to see and in fact, impossible not to see. The combination of these things creates an environment in which fans feel emotionally connected to the players. Which could stand to reason, at least to some degree, why the NBA has for so long been concerned with its image i As far as reputations go, Dennis Rodman is one of the most recognizable names in NBA history. And although he was one of the best and most prolific rebounders —and more specifically, with the image of its players both collectively and individually. ii Rodman was the first star player in the NBA to get and display visible tattoos. He got his first in 1993 as a member of the San Antonio Spurs and wrote about it in his autobiography I Should Be Dead By Now. the game has seen and has been inducted into the league’s Hall of Fame, he is still most remembered for the combination of his antics and body decoration. “I got my first tattoo…and the NBA didn’t like that…I have now, maybe 100, up and down my arms, legs, back, chest, and neck, covering about three-quarters of my body,” iii Along with the growing tattoo collection, Rodman began to dye his hair bright colors and in wild patterns. His behavior turned increasingly erratic toward others he writes. 23 players, coaches and referees as his on and off court celebrity grew, beginning after a six- month relationship to pop singer Madonna. That propelled Rodman into the wider cultural spotlight, leading Sports Illustrated magazine to call him “America’s most provocative athlete” in a 1995 cover story. iv “…Rodman has absolutely no concern for how his antics will play in the basketball community. And though he has a desperate and obvious need to draw attention to himself, Rodman doesn’t give a flying halter top about what his NBA peers or employers think of his behavior.” In that story, it says: iv Thus, the NBA’s first relationship with a tattooed player was one of continual controversy and wild celebrity. Even so, as a popular athlete with a growing arsenal of tattoos, he was significantly exposing the art form and further integrating it into mainstream society. “The proliferation of the tattoo was in part encouraged by a growing number of celebrities, from sports stars to movie and TV actors, sporting tattoos,” writes author Marc Oxoby in his book The 1990’s (American Popular Culture Through History). v Rodman’s fascination with tattoos so happened to coincide with the American mainstream’s growing fascination with tattoos, albeit he was decidedly a step ahead. While seeing tattoos on individuals still elicited stereotypes of the rough, the aggressive, the gang member, the inmate and so on, athletes and other celebrities were beginning to break those molds, even if some of those very athletes and celebrities actually fit into those molds. Increased exposure made it known to the public that although those stereotypical individuals still got tattoos, they were not the only ones getting them. 24 But as with society as a whole, the NBA was not quite ready to fully embrace the tattoo and the possible conceptions that went along with it. While Rodman was wild and eccentric, known for cross dressing and dating famous women, a very tattooed NBA point guard by the name of Allen Iverson gained a different, no less controversial, reputation. He could be rude, he was outspoken and he was confident perhaps to a fault, but he was also such a skilled player, and so popular amongst fans, that he appeared on the cover of the league’s Inside Stuff magazine—but not before editors airbrushed off some of his tattoos during post production. Perhaps the league was simply trying to make Iverson, one its stars, more visually acceptable to the mainstream and therefore more marketable. But if so, did it mean that the league correlated having tattoos with a lack of marketability? If this was in fact that league’s stance, then it had a growing problem on its hands. By the time the Iverson issue of Inside Stuff was on newsstands in 1997, 35% of the league’s players were tattooed, vi according to an Associated Press poll published then. In the poll’s accompanying article, it said: “Tattoos always have been popular among inmates, sailors, bikers and gang members. Now they’re showing up in increasing numbers in the NBA.” vi Those stereotypes were again asserted to juxtapose the NBA player with the aggressive, proving that four years after Rodman’s first tattoo, society was still very much shifting from said stereotypes to a broader acceptance of the tattoo. The NBA and its tattooed players were providing a stage on which societal perceptions of tattooing could evolve, even if slowly. 25 Writer Andrew Gottlieb published a book on NBA players’ tattoos in 2003, vii Even so, some, like writer Kyle McNary, see the high percentage of tattooed NBA players and dislike it visually. In 2009 he wrote an article titled ‘Tattoos Have Made NBA Almost Unwatchable.’ at which point he claimed that 70% of the league’s players were “tatted out.” His book explained some of the players’ tattoo choices, giving background and adding a level of relatable humanity to both their lives and their body art decisions. viii In it, he writes: “Basketball, when played right, can be a thing of beauty. But, the two-bit punk attitudes, tattoos and chest-beating has made a great sport look like a thug convention.” viii Another article, this one titled ‘Permanent Markers: Race and Cultural Politics of Tattoos,’ vi quotes McNary and takes issue with the word “thug,” which the writers say is racially charged. A high percentage of the NBA’s approximately 450 players are African American and over the years, discussions regarding tattoos on NBA players have often teetered around talks of racial perceptions throughout both the league and society. vi In an interview for this project, McNary expanded that he does not consider tattooing in the NBA as a racial issue, but instead continues to views it through an historical lens. He is the author of the book Black Baseball: A History of African Americans and the National Game, and has interviewed more than fifty ex-Major League baseball players of various races. “These athletes did a few things that they thought symbolized success: smoking good cigars and dressing nicely. I believe that NBA players, at some level, associate tattoos as a sign that “they’ve made it,” he says. ix 26 While that may be true for some players, it cannot be for all. Many come into the league with their tattoos already in tow from days of pre-NBA lore. The reason why so many NBA players have tattoos is not singular or distinguishable, but the reasons they are more noticeable throughout the NBA, in comparison to other professional leagues, is because the body is more exposed in a basketball uniform. The rise of the tattoo’s popularity in the NBA parallels that of mainstream society in many ways, as exposure leads to acceptance. Having clear views of NBA players’ tattoos provided one way for members of society to get better acquainted with the art form. But for those like McNary, such an overt and pervasive visual is difficult to watch. There are no numbers to indicate how many fans might also find the tattoos ‘watchable’ versus ‘unwatchable,’ but fans and the media debated the merits of visual versus hidden tattoos when it was revealed in 2011 that NBA power forward Kevin Durant has a torso and back completely filled with tattoos in deference to his hometown and family. x That revelation came as a surprise to fans and others who thought Durant to be one of the few inkless superstars in the league. But writer Eric Freeman had this perspective to provide the discussion: It’s tempting to say that Durant is trying to hide his tattoos to appeal to a larger market of fans, but it’s possible that he just prefers to put tattoos on his torso and not his extremities. Plus, we’ve reached a point as basketball fans where tattoos are not an automatic sign of a thug. They’re perfectly normal and a common feature of the league’s most popular players. xi 27 The surprised reaction to Durant’s tattoos could illustrate that, while tattoos do not automatically equate to thug, they still do, even now, conjure an impression of edge and rebellion at least to some degree—two traits not typically associated with the mild- mannered and well-liked Durant. What began as a novelty in 1993 is a commonality in 2012, with estimates that around 80% of the league’s players are sporting tattoos. xii From the superstars to the benchwarmers, the quiet ones to the wild ones, today’s tattoo culture in the NBA is not something that represents a certain type of player or person. Instead, it simply represents a common way that NBA players choose to express themselves, knowing full well that their professional uniforms can rarely hide it. 28 Chapter Three Endnotes i “ESPN The Magazine Special Report Examine NBA’s Image Issues” Sports Business Daily 15 Feb. 2008. SportsBusinessDaily.com 29 Feb. 2012. <http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Daily/Issues/2008/02/Issue-103/Leagues-Governing-Bodies/ESPN- The-Magazine-Special-Report-Examines-Nbas-Image-Issues.aspx> ii Bialik, Carl. “Dennis Rodman, Winner” The Wall Street Journal. 20 May 2011. WSJ.com 01 April 2012. <http://blogs.wsj.com/dailyfix/2011/05/20/dennis-rodman-winner/> iii Rodman, Dennis and Jack Isenhour, I Should Be Dead By Now, (Champaign, Illinois: Sports Publishing LLC, 2006) 18-20. iv Silver, Michael. “Rodman Unchained” Sports Illustrated May 1995. SportsIllustrated.com. 01 March 2012. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1006641/index.htm iv Ibid. v Oxoby, Marc, The 1900’s (American Popular Culture Through History), (Connecticut: Greenwood, 2003) vi Guerrero, Lisa and David J. Leonard. “Permanent Markers: Race and Cultural Politics of Tattoos.” New Black Man. 11 Nov. 2011. 03 Feb. 2012 <http://newblackman.blogspot.com/2011/11/permanent-markers- race-cultural.html> vi Ibid. vii Gottlieb, Andrew, In the Paint: Tattoos of the NBA and the Stories Behind Them, (New York: Hyperion, 2003) p. 1-25 viii McNary, Kyle. “Tattoos Have Made NBA Almost Unwatchable” Examiner. 25 May 2009. 29 Dec. 2012. <http://www.examiner.com/sports-in-minneapolis/tattoos-have-made-nba-almost-unwatchable> viii Ibid. vi Ibid. vi Ibid ix McNary, Kyle. Email interview. 12 Jan. 2012. x B., Sabrina. “NBA: Kevin Durant’s Surprising Hidden Tattoos are ‘Business Tattoos’. Check Out What They Mean” In Flex We Trust. 25 July 2011. 01 April 2012. <http://www.inflexwetrust.com/2011/07/25/pic-nba-kevin-durants-surprising-hidden-tattoos-are-business- tattoos-check-out-what-they-mean/> 29 xi Freeman, Eric. “Kevin Durant has a lot of tattoos under his jersey” Yahoo Sports. 21 July 2011. 01 April 2012. <http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/kevin-durant-has-a-lot-of-tattoos-under-his- jersey?urn=nba,wp6742> xii NBAtattoos.tumblr.com. 02 Feb. 2012. 30 Chapter Four When You Rethink the Ink Tattoos are considered a permanent fixture on the body, and until relatively recently, that was completely true, as even removal possibilities left the skin with scarring and the unsightliness of dimmed ink. For many, the permanence of a tattoo still represents reality, considering the potentially high cost and physical pain of getting the work removed. But with the advent and proliferation of laser tattoo removal, which has decreased pain and is more efficient than older methods, it is more possible than ever to reverse body art decisions once considered lifelong. Whether for visual, social, safety or physical reasons, 16 percent of tattooed Americans experience remorse about their tattoo decision, according to a 2008 Harris Poll. i Figure 9: Eli Morris portrait That remorse does not always result in tattoo removal, but for tattoo artist Eli Morris, it did. 31 Now an experienced professional, Morris learned to tattoo in a friend’s garage at age 15. That friend’s dad got out of prison, newly adorned with tattoos done by fellow inmates, and taught the teenagers the technique using guitar strings and ink. Morris got a skull tattoo at the time and perhaps as is no surprise, wanted it removed in later years. ii Even as a tattoo artist who considers his work permanent and who hopes his customers will want to keep his work on their bodies, he understands the importance of the removal industry. “Some people are stupid and they get stupid tattoos. When you’re young, you’ll be into something at a certain age and when you’re another age, you’re like, what was I thinking?” he said. “It’s better for everyone to be able to have tattoos removed, even if it was meant to be permanent.” While Morris remarks on how much he enjoys his line of work because of its permanent nature, versus graffiti art—which he used to do—that is often quickly wiped clean from the applied surface, he thinks removal is worth the price and effort, if it can be afforded. Pricing is dependent upon the size, color and detail of the tattoo, but the going rate is around $100-$150 per square inch per treatment. iii Louie Duran works at Priority Tattoo, within the Tattoo Removal Department of Homeboy Industries, a non-profit organization that provides free tattoo removal and other services to former gang members. He describes the procedure as very painful. The number of sessions also depends on those details and the overall complexity of the tattoo. 32 “It’s ten times more painful than the actual tattoo being placed a person’s skin. The laser machine causes an inflammation similar to a first degree burn,” he says. While the pain level can vary depending on the patient and the detailing and quality of the tattoo, some level of pain is almost a certainty and is often high, he says. The video below is courtesy of Mark Bakr at South Coast Med Spa, a southern California laser treatment center. It details how the laser removal process works and shows a person getting a tattoo removed from his neck. Figure 10: Screenshot removal video The invention of laser tattoo removal is credited to dermatologist Leon Goldman, who in the late 1960’s began using a laser that sent hot bursts into the skin, removing some of the tattoo but leaving unsightly marks and burns in the process. iv 33 More than two decades of technological improvement and innovation led to the 1991 invention of the still most commonly used Q-switched lasers, which helped the procedure become more common and less risky. iii As detailed in the above video, these lasers target the tattoo’s pigment in the skin and, careful not to hit other tissue, send bursts of light that break down the color, which then leaves the body by natural means. But pre-laser there were other methods for removal collectively far less effective. Some are still used today, like dermabrasion and salabrasion, which are procedures that involve the rubbing away of skin layers using sandpaper or other abrasive gauzes. These can be effective but are often long and painful and carry with them risks of infection and scarring. v Cryosurgery is also used and is the application of extreme cold to freeze and destroy tissue. Most often used to remove warts, moles and some skin cancers, this procedure can also be used to remove tattoos–but patients run a risk of nerve damage to the tissue. vi Researchers at Freedom-2, a company founded by dermatologists and scientists, came up with InfinitINK, a tattoo ink designed to be easily removed with one laser treatment. “I realized it’s better to work on the ink than on the laser,” said dermatologist and Freedom-2 co-founder Dr. Rox Anderson in an interview with the Smithsonian in 2007. iv “This is the first time a tattoo ink has actually been designed from a biological and material science point of view.” 34 The ink lies in tiny beads under the skin and during removal, those beads burst when hit by the laser, easily breaking apart and releasing into the body for natural removal. But according to Eli Morris, this kind of ink does not come without caveats. He claims that the ink has its own look, one not as authentic or pronounced as the traditional ink designed for permanence. Inventions like this one, or the advancements in laser tattoo removal, are boons for those who regret their body art decisions for whatever reason. But regardless, it is still Morris’s hope that the work he puts on a customer’s skin will remain forever, in the spirit of old fashioned, tattooed permanence. 35 Chapter Four Endnotes i Teitell, Beth. “Getting tattoo is easy. Undoing it is no pretty picture.” Boston Globe. Ed. Martin Baron. 02 Sept. 2011. Boston Globe. 29 Feb. 2012 <http://articles.boston.com/2011-09- 02/lifestyle/30106687_1_tattoo-removal-tattoo-parlor-chinese-symbol> ii Morris, Eli. Personal interview. 12 March 2012. iii Tattoo Health. 02 March 2012. <http://www.tattoohealth.org/content/faq.asp> iv Jaffe, Eric. “The Tattoo Eraser: A New Type of Body Art Ink Promises Freedom from Forever” Smithsonian. 01 Jan. 2007. Smithsonian Institution. 02 Feb. 2012 <http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/tattoo_remove.html> iii Ibid. v Remove Tattoo Review. 02 Feb. 2012. <http://removeatattooreview.com/home-diy/dermabrasion-tattoo- removal/> vi Tattoos Away. 02 Feb. 2012 <http://www.tattoos-away.com/cryosurgery.html> iv Ibid. 36 Bibliography B., Sabrina. “NBA: Kevin Durant’s Surprising Hidden Tattoos are ‘Business Tattoos’. Check Out What They Mean” In Flex We Trust. 25 July 2011. 01 April 2012. <http://www.inflexwetrust.com/2011/07/25/pic-nba-kevin-durants-surprising-hidden- tattoos-are-business-tattoos-check-out-what-they-mean/> Bialik, Carl. “Dennis Rodman, Winner” The Wall Street Journal. 20 May 2011. WSJ.com 01 April 2012. <http://blogs.wsj.com/dailyfix/2011/05/20/dennis-rodman-winner/> Bueno, B.J. Phone interview. 8 Feb. 2012. Degroat, Josh. Personal interview. Nov. 2012. “ESPN The Magazine Special Report Examine NBA’s Image Issues” Sports Business Daily 15 Feb. 2008. SportsBusinessDaily.com 29 Feb. 2012. <http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Daily/Issues/2008/02/Issue-103/Leagues- Governing-Bodies/ESPN-The-Magazine-Special-Report-Examines-Nbas-Image- Issues.aspx> Fletcher, Joann. Email interview. 2 Feb. 2012. Freeman, Eric. “Kevin Durant has a lot of tattoos under his jersey” Yahoo Sports. 21 July 2011. 01 April 2012. <http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/kevin-durant- has-a-lot-of-tattoos-under-his-jersey?urn=nba,wp6742> Gottlieb, Andrew, In the Paint: Tattoos of the NBA and the Stories Behind Them, (New York: Hyperion, 2003) Guerrero, Lisa and David J. Leonard. “Permanent Markers: Race and Cultural Politics of Tattoos.” New Black Man. 11 Nov. 2011. 03 Feb. 2012 <http://newblackman.blogspot.com/2011/11/permanent-markers-race-cultural.html> Jaffe, Eric. “The Tattoo Eraser: A New Type of Body Art Ink Promises Freedom from Forever” Smithsonian. 01 Jan. 2007. Smithsonian Institution. 02 Feb. 2012 <http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/tattoo_remove.html> Keinlen, Alexis. “Skin deep: tattoos mark the body’s surface. But their inspiration draws from a deeper source.” Herizons Magazine. Ed. Penni Mitchell. 22 Sept. 2005. 12 Feb. 2012. <http://www.herizons.ca/node/200> 37 Krcmarik, Katharine. “Attitudes About Tattooing: Attitudes in the 1800s,” Ed. Katharine Krcmarik. 2003. Michigan State University. 1 Feb. 2012. <https://www.msu.edu/~krcmari1/individual/att_1800.html> “Lakers,” Darlene. Personal interview. 16 Jan. 2012. Lineberry, Cate. “Tattoos: The Ancient and Mysterious History” Smithsonian Magazine. Ed. Michael Caruso. 1 Jan. 2007. Smithsonian Institution. 22 Jan. 2012. <http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/tattoo.html> McNary, Kyle. Email interview. 12 Jan. 2012. McNary, Kyle. “Tattoos Have Made NBA Almost Unwatchable” Examiner. 25 May 2009. 29 Dec. 2012. <http://www.examiner.com/sports-in-minneapolis/tattoos-have- made-nba-almost-unwatchable> Miller, Jean-Chris, The Body Art Book: A Complete, Illustrated Guide to Tattoos, Piercings, And Other Body Modifications, (New York: Berkley Publishing Group, July 2004) Morris, Eli. Personal interview. 12 March 2012. NBAtattoos.tumblr.com. 02 Feb. 2012. Oxoby, Marc, The 1900’s (American Popular Culture Through History, (Connecticut: Greenwood, 2003) Remove Tattoo Review. 02 Feb. 2012 <http://removeatattooreview.com/home- diy/dermabrasion-tattoo-removal/> Rodman, Dennis and Jack Isenhour, I Should Be Dead By Now, (Champaign, Illinois: Sports Publishing LLC, 2006) Rubin, Lawrence. Phone interview. Jan. 2012. Sanchez, Alex. Personal interview. 20 Feb. 2012. Schiffmacher, Henk and Burkhard Riemschneider, Tattoos, (Place: TASCHEN, April 2001) 38 Silver, Michael. “Rodman Unchained” Sports Illustrated May 1995. SportsIllustrated.com 01 March 2012. <http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1006641/index.htm> Tahiti Tatou: Polynesian Tribal Tattoo Worldwide Guide. 2008. 1 Feb. 2012. <http://www.tahititatou.com/history.html> Tattoo Health. 02 March 2012. <http://www.tattoohealth.org/content/faq.asp> Tattoo Traveling. Northern Illinois University. 16 Feb. 2012. <https://sites.google.com/site/tattootraveling> Tattoos Away. 02 Feb. 2012 <http://www.tattoos-away.com/cryosurgery.html> Taylor, Paul and Scott Keeter (editors). Millennials: A Portrait of Generation Next. Feb. 2010. Pew Research Center. Jan. 2012 <http://pewsocialtrends.org/files/2010/10/millennials-confident-connected-open-to- change.pdf> Teitell, Beth. “Getting tattoo is easy. Undoing it is no pretty picture.” Boston Globe. Ed. Martin Baron. 02 Sept. 2011. Boston Globe. 29 Feb. 2012 <http://articles.boston.com/2011-09-02/lifestyle/30106687_1_tattoo-removal-tattoo- parlor-chinese-symbol> Thomas, Nicholas, Anna Cole, and Bronwen Douglas (editors), Tattoo: Bodies, Art, and Exchange in the Pacific and the West (Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 2005) Vanishing Tattoo: The World’s Largest Online Tattoo Museum. Ed. Jack Silberman. 2011. 1 Feb. 2012. <http://www.vanishingtattoo.com/tattoo_museum/upper_paleolithic.html> Wann, Daniel. Email interview. 16 Feb. 2012. Wann, Daniel, “Preliminary Validation of the Sport Fan Motivation Scale,” Journal of Sport and Social Issues (1995) Wilson, Tracy V. “How Tattoos Work.” 01 April 2000. HowStuffWorks.com. Discovery Communications. 02 March 2012. <http://health.howstuffworks.com/skin- care/beauty/skin-and-lifestyle/tattoo.htm> 39 Appendix A: Visual Breakdown of Project Website Project web address: emilyannwilson.com/thesis Figure 1A: Screenshot homepage top Figure 2A: Screenshot homepage middle 40 Figure 3A: Screenshot homepage bottom Figure 4A: Screenshot About page 41 Figure 5A: Screenshot Video page 42 Figure 6A: Screenshot Articles page Figure 7A: Screenshot Photos page 43 Appendix B: Audio Slideshow Summary Professional tattoo artist Eli Morris learned how to tattoo at the age of fifteen, when a friend’s dad was released from prison and showed the boys the technique he learned as an inmate using guitar strings and ink. This audio slideshow is from the point of view of Morris, as he tells of that initiation into the art form, about his background as a visual artist and about his experience doing sports tattoos. He talks specifically about one customer, Miguel Lopez Jr. (featured in Appendix D) who chose to get a Lakers tattoo across his entire chest. Figure 1B: Screenshot Eli Morris 44 Figure 2B: Screenshot Morris tattooing Figure 3B: Screenshot Morris quote 45 Figure 4B: Screenshot Morris art work 46 Appendix C: Timeline Summary This timeline is embedded at the beginning of Chapter Three: Tattoo Culture in the NBA on the project website and was created to provide an overall picture of how the popularity of tattooing amongst NBA players has grown, changed and evolved since its beginning with Dennis Rodman in 1993. Both controversial and expressive, around 80% of the NBA’s current players are tattooed as of the 2012 season, marking an explosion of popularity in under three decades. Figure 1C: Screenshot timeline beginning 47 Figure 2C: Screenshot timeline 1993 48 Figure 3C: Screenshot timeline 2005 49 Appendix D: Video Summaries These are screenshots and brief descriptions of the seven videos featured on the project website. Figure 1D: Screenshot video Lopez 50 Figure 2D: Screenshot video Strawsburg 51 Figure 3D: Screenshot video Vidrio 52 Figure 4D: Screenshot video Darlene 53 Figure 5D: Screenshot video Degroat 54 Figure 6D: Screenshot video Thomas and Jose 55 Figure 7D: Screenshot video Sanchez 56 Appendix E: Photograph Summaries These are three examples of photographs featured in the web photo slideshow. Figure 1E: Screenshot photo one 57 Figure 2E: Screenshot photo two 58 Figure 3E: Screenshot photo three

Abstract (if available)

Abstract This is a multimedia examination of why certain sports fans choose to get tattoos representative of their favorite teams. Eight fans of Los Angeles area sports teams are featured in video shorts, each sharing why their personal connection to a team was powerful enough to incite a tattoo. As demonstrated throughout, there are unique reasons to get such tattoos, but there are common themes that permeate from fan to fan regardless of sport, gender, profession or background. ❧ Along with the videos, this project is hosted on a website that includes four written articles, photographs, an audio slideshow and an interactive timeline, all providing a balanced look and analysis of tattoo culture at large—and more specifically, of tattoo culture as it relates to sports. ❧ As the backbone of the project, the four articles aim to unfold the layers of sports fandom that lead to such permanent action, being sure to understand how these layers and the common themes from fan to fan relate to the history of tattooing as a form of both practical and artistic human expression. And as tattooing further relates to sports, it’s important to consider how the modern tattoo has come of age and grown more acceptable alongside the game of basketball and the National Basketball Association, a league in which around 80% of the players are tattooed. Lastly, while tattooing is still considered a permanent choice by most, that notion is less and less true as laser removal techniques become safer, more affordable and increasingly widespread. Even so, the fans featured throughout this project view their own tattoos as permanent and see them as the definitive way to prove their fandom indisputably.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Wilson, Emily Ann (author)

Core Title The permanent fan: passionate enough to put it in ink

School Annenberg School for Communication

Degree Master of Arts

Degree Program Journalism (Online Journalism)

Publication Date 05/04/2012

Defense Date 04/02/2012

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag dedication,fans,OAI-PMH Harvest,Passion,Psychology,Sports

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Lih, Andrew (committee chair), Hernandez, Robert (committee member), Ross, Steven J. (committee member)

Creator Email emilyawi@usc.edu,wilson.emilyann@gmail.com

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c3-27633

Unique identifier UC11290037

Identifier usctheses-c3-27633 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-WilsonEmil-742-0.pdf

Dmrecord 27633

Document Type Thesis

Rights Wilson, Emily Ann

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA