NEWS

Jaguars fans show long-lasting support with tattoos

David Crumpler
dcrumpler@jacksonville.com
A Jaguars-inspired tattoo done at Elite Ink, Tattoos & Piercing, in Jacksonville. (Provided by Elite Ink, Tattoos & Piercing)

The “Go Jaguars” spirit currently thriving in Northeast Florida is bringing an increase in long-lasting signs of support for the football team: tattoos.

That’s the consensus at several Jacksonville tattoo shops, which have seen a surge in requests for Jags-inspired images in recent weeks.

They see a clear connection between the boost in business and the team’s rise in the ranks this season, especially because of the potential to make its first-ever appearance in the Super Bowl, employees said.

Justin Ham, front desk manager at Inksmith & Rogers Tattoo Studio on Stockton Street, said the shop had done three or four Jaguars-inspired tattoos in recent weeks, which is more than usual.

“It’s not uncommon since the playoffs,” he said. “It’s a direct result of the excitement.”

Getting the tattoo doesn’t necessarily require a major time commitment.

Depending on the size of the tattoo, Ham said, “it’s possible to get the traditional cat-head logo in about an hour and a half or two.”

Jay Carter, a tattoo artist at 8th Day Tattoo on Park Street, said he expected to complete at least three Jaguars-inspired tattoos this week.

That’s three more, he estimated, than he’s done in the past two years.

“I can’t say it came out of nowhere, because I’m aware of how good the Jaguars are,” Carter said. “But at least with me, in my personal experience, there’s definitely a connection between the Jaguars and my business right now.”

The Jaguars logo has been the standard inspiration for the tattoo requests, he said, but one in particular stood out as example of team — and city — pride: a Jaguars image with an outline of Jacksonville’s skyline.

Tapping into the community’s enthusiasm, Elite Ink, Tattoos & Piercing on Parental Home Drive is offering Jaguars and Duval tattoos at a discount until the Super Bowl, said owner Mike Bryan.

The shop has been a longtime supporter of the team, Bryan said. “This is one of the best promotions we’ve ever done.”

As a shop apprentice at The Riverside Social tattoo studio on King Street, Eric Villarreal is in a good position to see how the Jaguars’ success is energizing fans. A number of casual restaurants and bars are nearby the shop, including the popular sports bar Kickbacks Gastropub, and he sees enthusiastic customers emerging after a game.

“You can see and hear the excitement,” he said.

That’s been carrying over to Riverside Social customers as well.

“Random people off the street are coming in and saying they want a Jaguars tattoo,” Villarreal said.

Some of it has been predicated on the big win.

“They say if the Jaguars win the Super Bowl, they’re coming back and getting a tattoo,” he said.

Others are just part of an overall feeling of city pride.

“People are really big on representing Duval County as whole,” Villarreal said. “There’s a lot of energy in the community, and so much pride in being from Jacksonville in all sides of town.

“The pride was already a thing before the Jaguars started winning. But now that they’re winning, it’s bigger than ever.”

Villarreal has seen customers who have had a Jaguars tattoo for a while come in to have it touched up because it’s faded.

He’s also seeing a sincere if less permanent connection between the Jaguars and the studio’s clients.

Last weekend, The Riverside Social did nine tattoos of DTWD, an abbreviation for “Duval ’Til We Die,” a slogan that Jaguars fans have embraced and shared on social media platforms as the hashtag #DTWD.

The location of the four characters in this instance was the inside of the lower lip.

“It’s because it’s concealable,” Villarreal said, “so nobody will see it unless you show it to them. And also the mouth heals itself, and the ink will eventually get pushed out, so it’s not the most permanent.”

Desiree McMillan, 18, was part of a group of five friends Saturday night celebrating someone’s birthday when, in the proximity of The Riverside Social, one of them suggested getting DTWD tattoos.

It was, she said, spur of the moment. And McMillan didn’t know what DTWD meant until it was explained to her.

But she found the idea appealing, as did two other members of the group who also talked with the Times-Union but preferred not to be named.

They, like McMillan, are longtime Jaguars fans born and raised in Jacksonville. They have all found the team’s performance this season exciting and uplifting.

So they went to the shop, learned about the lip tattoo option, then stepped outside to discuss it.

“It seemed kind of crazy, like ‘Will we regret this in the morning?’ ” McMillan said. They made the decision to go back inside.

The process took about five minutes for each and the pain was minimal.

“We just really liked it,” she said. “We don’t regret it. It’s good for our friendship and good for the city.”

The placement seems ideal to the college students for a few reasons, they said.

It’s up to each of them to decide who sees the tattoo.

It’s a logical choice if you’re ever concerned about discretion. “We didn’t want to get ‘Duval’ on our foreheads,” said one of the women.

And it will eventually fade away, which would be convenient in the event their enthusiasm for the tattoo or the Jags wanes. But they said they don’t see that happening.

“It’s something I’ll get redone,” one of McMillan’s friends said. “It’s way cooler than I thought it would be.”

David Crumpler: (904) 359-4164