Lou Rubino, the owner of Tattoo Lou's, has seen fads come and go in his 50 years in the business. He believes there is a good reason that sports themes are popular and considers them a solid choice because people don't usually tire of their team the way they do of, well, other people.

"I always say tattoos are forever," Rubino said. "Wives come and go."
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Indeed, for many people, being a fan of a particular team is a big part of who they are, said Ed Hirt, a professor of psychology at Indiana University who has studied sports fans and identity.

"For some people, sports and their fanship are as important as their religion and their family," Hirt said. "For a lot of people, it's psychologically important to have a sense of community and identity, and sports can be their main avenue of doing that.

"What's beautiful about a tattoo is that it's not like a shirt which you can take off. It shows you're really committed. You're not a fair-weather person. It says that this is important to you, and it will be important to you until you die."

Sean Lustig of Plainview decided to get a Rangers tattoo four years ago because he figured it was something he never would get sick of. But he never quite anticipated that the tattoo would become as integral to his identity as it has.

"When I went away to school, my nickname became Ranger Tattoo," Lustig said. "Everybody knew about it, knew I was the guy with the tattoo."

All of Ryan Uchman's friends in Kelowna, British Columbia, know of his crazy fanaticism when it comes to the Islanders, specifically former Islander David Volek. Uchman had Volek's name tattooed on his arm after Volek scored the overtime goal that eliminated two-time Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh from the 1993 playoffs.

Oddly enough, getting a Volek tattoo is not the craziest thing Uchman has tried to do as an Islanders fan living more than 3,000 miles from Long Island. He owns a Volek game-worn jersey and had planned to wear it to his wedding, but his bride "had other ideas." He has managed to alter his work schedule so he can watch Islanders games that begin at 4 p.m. where he lives.

"There's something about this team that gets into your bones," he said.

Or under your skin, as it seems so many teams have a way of doing for their tattooed fans. Craig Pinto, who also has a tattoo of the Portuguese National Soccer team logo on one of his legs, says that after enduring the ups and downs of being an Islanders fan, getting inked is nothing.

"A tattoo is only a half-hour of pain," Pinto said. "Islander pain is 30 or 40 games a year. They've hurt me a lot more."