Tattoos show toughness

People at IU have tattoos. What makes the wrestling team unique is the fact that in this small group, almost everyone has a tattoo.\nWrestlers are seen as tough individuals, which might explain why tattoos are so prevalent on the team. Senior Brian Smiley said tattoos add to the toughness of a wrestler.\n"We all think that we are the toughest guys," Smiley said. "We think that we have to show it."\nMany of the other wrestlers agree with Smiley. Freshman J.P. Stanley said it just something that wrestlers do.\n"Most college wrestlers have at least one," Stanley said. "It's more of a thing to do to fit in."\nAnother reason that many wrestlers have a tattoo is the chance to display them. Because of the singlets that wrestlers wear, much of the upper body, back and legs are exposed. This is where many of the tattoos are.\n"You act like you don't want to show them off, but then you put it where everyone can see it," Smiley said. "I'll probably regret that someday."\nSome believe that tattoos can make a wrestler appear tougher than he really is. \n"If I had to wrestle a guy that was covered in tattoos, I'd be a little more intimidated of him," freshman Pat DeGain said.\nWrestlers can be perceived as going overboard when trying to make themselves look tough. DeGain recalls a guy in Missouri who covered his entire body with an armor type covering.\n"(Freshman Andy) Rios wanted to wrestle that guy really bad," DeGain said. "He wanted to beat him because he looked so bad."\nSome of the tattoos are just mere designs drawn up by friends. Others have meaning behind them. Some are even part of family tradition.\nSmiley's tattoo is the Superman symbol on his leg. Both he and his brother got the same thing when Smiley came to IU. He said he got it because he really liked Superman as a kid and his last name begins with "S." \nSophomore Andrew Wolf's tattoo has family history behind it. His tattoo is a picture of a wolf with his last name.\n"My dad and my brothers have one like it," Wolf said. "So do my uncles. It's kind of like a family tradition."\nThose without tattoos sometimes feel the pressure to get one like everyone else. DeGain just got his four months ago.\n"There's no real pressure, but my roommate J.P. (Stanley) had one, so I got one," DeGain said. "Mine was more of an adrenaline rush, though."\nWhether wrestlers get tattoos to prove how tough they are or not, the commonality among them was one thing: being manly.\n"It's just something some guys do," junior Jason Bader said. "It's a macho form of expression"