Since I graduated last month, I have been flipping through my yearbook out of nostalgia, and there is actually a section in it called "Irish Ink" with pics of students with their ND tattoos. Each student with tattoos pictured also included a statement about why getting an ND tattoo was important to him or her. Before even reading, I tried to recall how many people at ND I had known that actually had any tattoos before I said a big "duhhh" in my head. So three of the six people in the article happen to be ND football players and I thought I'd shared what they wrote. I remembered this thread because Eilar Hardy is the feature of the story and here is what he had to say (in the article he is pictured with his two tattoos shown above)
"I got my first tattoo when i was 15. When I started getting recruited for football, I chose to come here at the end of my junior year. I got the ND tattoo because it was a commitment for me and my family. My mom always talked about graduating and getting a degree, so I got this as motivation for me to actually graduate and go forward when it gets hard. Whenever things get hard, I just look at my arm. I can't go anywhere else, I gotta stick it out. All the other tattoos are just chapters my my life. Different things that have gone on in my life. Whenever something important or significant happens to me in my life, I'm going to get a tattoo as a memory. I got the ND tat as a memory and as a motivation to graduate and get my degree and be succcessful."
Also, Mike Golic Jr. and Brandon Newman also have their own entries. If anyone wants pictures I can post them. Golic's tattoo is particularly eye-catching.
Golic:
"It's based off of the stone carving above the side entrance of the Basilica. We go through that door ever Saturday for pregame Mass during the season, so it's a spot on campus that means a lot to me because football has been a big part of my time here and the Basilica has always been one of my favorite spots on campus. The whole tattoo is my personal homage to Notre Dame and my family. I grew up my entire life dreaming about playing and going to school here, and my experience here is something I'll cherish forever. The things I've been able to do here and the people I've shared my life with have left their mark on me, and this is a physical way of showing that. My family and Notre Dame have always gone hand in hand, with my dad and his two brothers all coming to school here, my mom attending St. Mary's, and now my brother and I here and my sister on the way next year. I love my family more than anything, and I love Notre Dame, and this tattoo really serves to remind me of this and let others see it as well."
Newman:
"I got this tattoo during my senior year of high school about a month before signing day. I actually showed Coach Weis and Coach Brown the tattoo after I got it when they came to visit me. I said, 'Look guys, go recruit other people, I'm fully committed to Notre Dame.' It was my first tattoo ever and I got it because I am passionate about my high school as well as the place I choose to spend my collegiate years. When things got tough for me at Notre Dame, the tattoo was one of the main reasons I decided to stay and didn't transfer. I thank God for this radical decision I made when I was only 17 years old because it solidified my future in more ways than one."
Both of these are verbatim from the yearbook this year. Though tatoogate at pO$U might make the story have a little less glimmer, I nevertheless think some of the stories are very interesting and are ones I have not heard because I have not been following the program for that long.
