When I was a young man I was fascinated by what happened to all of the championship merchandise that was made but never sold because the team ended up losing. During the early days of eBay I was on a quest to find a Buffalo Bills Super Bowl Champions shirt for reasons that I cannot fully explain today. I was enamored by the idea of all these shirts existing but never seeing the light of day because the Bills lost four consecutive Super Bowls. Wearing one of those bad boys would be like living in an alternate reality and I wanted to have that. I never was able to procure one, but even if I did, it wouldn’t be nearly as notable as the tattoo Jack Bienvenue will have with him for the rest of his life.
Bienvenue has been in the headlines throughout the NBA Finals after he got a tattoo proclaiming the Celtics as the 2022 NBA Champions. There was just one problem… the games had yet to be played.
As the resident sports nerd here at Inked, I have very mixed feelings about Bienvenue’s tattoo. Like many, I’m incredibly superstitious when it comes to sports. I have traditions and routines that I follow for every important game. I have a lucky hat. And, most importantly, I always expect the worst to happen lest I end up jinxing my team. Thus, I would never, ever, ever get a tattoo guaranteeing a championship. In my warped mind, the second the tattooer pulled that first line on Bienvenue’s arm the Celtics were as good as dead.
On the other hand, you have to hand it to Bienvenue. As an 18-year-old Boston sports fan he’s really only experienced good things. He was born the same year the Red Sox won their first World Series in 85 years. He’s seen the Sox win three more, the Patriots win 5 Super Bowls and the Bruins and Celtics each win one. He hasn’t had his heart mangled year after year by failure and circumstance. I can’t help but be inspired by his optimism.
Naturally, a lot of people have been asking him about the tattoo in the past 12 hours. He doesn’t plan on getting a cover-up or laser removal any time soon, which is what you want to see.
I wish I had that much perspective about sports losses. Instead I just throw things and scream like a child. I still think it’s a bad idea to get a tattoo like Bienvenue did, but I admire the grace with which he is handling everything. Cheers, Jack Bienvenue.
Source: www.inkedmag.com