Indiana State Tattoo?

[XTreeXC]

So I'm thinking of getting a tat to honor my days as an ISU cross country and track runner, and I'm trying to decide between the following:

Do I go with the Sycamore Leaf design (aka - The Mark of the Tree) as some of the ISU guys from the late 90s and early 2000s did?

Or do I go with the Sycamore athletics logo?

Any thoughts on this trivial topic?

[Bally #45]

So I'm thinking of getting a tat to honor my days as an ISU cross country and track runner, and I'm trying to decide between the following:

Do I go with the Sycamore Leaf design (aka - The Mark of the Tree) as some of the ISU guys from the late 90s and early 2000s did?

Or do I go with the Sycamore athletics logo?

Any thoughts on this trivial topic?
SYcamore logo. The leaf will be GONE in a year or two~

[SycamoreStateofMind]

SYcamore logo. The leaf will be GONE in a year or two~

Got to agree - Sycamore logo - however the leaf was a staple of many of the Cross Country runners in the late 90s to early 2000s - I even had a couple teamates that had them when I was in school 05-09. Then they kind of went out of style - they are old news. The generation that wore those was a hard ass group of runners - the team has a different make-up now. Not those same type of kids - still work hard and compete hard, but don't cary around hard-ass persona if you will.

[XTreeXC]

Thanks for the input. I was leaning toward the Sycamore logo (with a little sport-specific customization). Interesting info about the guys who got the leafs. I always wondered whether the leaf tattoo had become an ISU CC/T&F tradition (ala the Arkansas razorback tats) established after my time, or if it was mostly one era of runners who did it.

[SycamoreStateofMind]

Yeah they were pretty symbolic for a period of time and then that history did a complete 180, I think they started recruiting a different type of person - they start to focus on the "you" more than the "what"

you - being your personality and what you brought to the table as a person. Were you a kid of good character. Were you going to stay away from the unhealy social norms that have become so common at colleges across America or were you going to live the life of a dedicated student athlete?

what - being your ability and how you preformed on the track not off the track. Yeah maybe you could run fast but that doesn't assure that you are going to stay out of trouble and get caught up in the mess that is the social life of college.

Now that's not to put anything negative on the guys who got Sycamore Leafs - those guys were great guys and great athletes. That group of guys really put Indiana State on the map based on great running. However when I was in school at State the trend changed, the guys getting that tats were a little rebellious and it was more of them going against the grain of current athletes at State. The last 3 kids that I have known to get the "leaf" at State all quit the team for various reasons... None to surprising the "leaf" is not a common staple among athletes on the Cross team anymore. Very few, if any remain - that I know of.

[XTreeXC]

Yeah they were pretty symbolic for a period of time and then that history did a complete 180, I think they started recruiting a different type of person - they start to focus on the "you" more than the "what" .

Thanks for the insight; very interesting stuff. I'm glad the approach to recruiting has evolved to the method you described (although I never knew Coach McNichols to misfire on many of the distance runners he brought in during my era).

At any rate, my "career" and Coach McNichols's tenure at ISU started at the same time, and I've really enjoyed seeing the progression of the T&F and XC programs. We had some good runners (and people) on our teams back in the day, but now there is a true culture of winning that may not have been quite as strong in the beginning.

[SycamoreStateofMind]

Oh I have nothing but good things to say about John McNichols - great coach and even a better person. I don't know for a fact that they actually started recruiting a different type of "kid".

But I suspect they started to put more emphasis on it - I mean 20 years ago drinking amongst college students was not what it is now in the sense that now you go out and get drunk and are walking down the street you get thrown in jail or you get in a car and drive you get thrown in jail.

Just as the Police are more aware of drunk driving and underage drinking - the coaching staff is more aware in recrutiting that these things exist and they want to stay away from kids that might fall into trouble. Less headaches for them and the program will always have a good image in the communities eye.

I mean I am sure college students have been doing heavy drinking for many years and I am sure many other drugs and such - however I doubt 20 years ago that people were paying the kind of attention to underage drinking as they are today - things like this...

[4Q_iu]

Oh I have nothing but good things to say about John McNichols - great coach and even a better person. I don't know for a fact that they actually started recruiting a different type of "kid".

But I suspect they started to put more emphasis on it - I mean 20 years ago drinking amongst college students was not what it is now in the sense that now you go out and get drunk and are walking down the street you get thrown in jail or you get in a car and drive you get thrown in jail.

Just as the Police are more aware of drunk driving and underage drinking - the coaching staff is more aware in recrutiting that these things exist and they want to stay away from kids that might fall into trouble. Less headaches for them and the program will always have a good image in the communities eye.

I mean I am sure college students have been doing heavy drinking for many years and I am sure many other drugs and such - however I doubt 20 years ago that people were paying the kind of attention to underage drinking as they are today - things like this...

I don't know if the State coaches were 'aware' of it -- but 20 years ago, campus security LOVED to detain drunk students walking home from the Bally so the T-H police could cite them for Public Intox/Minor Consumption

That's why most folks partied in fraternities...Far safer than the roving ISU Security Patrols...

30-40 years ago; it was MUCH different...

[SycamoreStateofMind]

I don't know if the State coaches were 'aware' of it -- but 20 years ago, campus security LOVED to detain drunk students walking home from the Bally so the T-H police could cite them for Public Intox/Minor Consumption

That's why most folks partied in fraternities...Far safer than the roving ISU Security Patrols...

30-40 years ago; it was MUCH different...

Ok... Well hopefully you get my point - things have changed over time and I think as you recruit kids you have to adjust to the times. 1. So you can relate to the kids and 2. So you are getting the right type of kids to come to your school to run.

That can be really tough to do - it's really hard to tell who is going to come to college and suck it up and go down the wrong path. However I would suggest that their are some pretty good indicators. I can pretty much tell you after meeting a Cross Country runner for the first time weather they are going to amount to anything or not - spend a couple days with your teamates and you can tell who's got it and who doesn't.

It extends so much further than how you ran at the state meet or something to that effect.

[Sycamore4Life]

Sycamore athletics logo...who gets that as a tattoo ;)

[SycamoreStateofMind]

Sycamore athletics logo...who gets that as a tattoo ;)

Ummm... You perhaps? lol

[XTreeXC]

Sycamore athletics logo...who gets that as a tattoo ;)

Do you have one? If so, how did it turn out? Did you have it colored in with blue or did you just go with the black outline?

[Sycamore4Life]

Mine is outlined in black and then the Sycamore/star is colored in blue. I think its pretty cool and I'm definitely glad I got it.

[JerseyShore]

The leaf was a good idea. The original idea that lasted into 2000 was that you had to earn the leaf: score at the MVC meet or make the top 5 for the conf meet.

If you were in it for the team- you got it- if you were in it for yourself you got Olympic rings or something douchey like pegasus wings. If you didnt want a tatoo you didnt get one. It was a cool tradition while it lasted. Gunn cried when he got his.

We were proud to be at ISU, I was told that it died out because some guys didnt want to be associated with the late 90's group, hahaa what do you say to that?! So it ended. It got Tony McDanield!

[XTreeXC]

Mine is outlined in black and then the Sycamore/star is colored in blue. I think its pretty cool and I'm definitely glad I got it.

Where did you get it? (e.g. shoulder, bicep, etc.)

[XTreeXC]

The leaf was a good idea. The original idea that lasted into 2000 was that you had to earn the leaf: score at the MVC meet or make the top 5 for the conf meet.

If you were in it for the team- you got it...

Nice. I like the aspects of worthiness and team you all employed at the time. My era was about a decade before yours, but I still think it would have been cool if your short-lived tradition had stuck (ala the Arkansas Razorback tats).

Did you guys have a uniform place (on your body) where you got the leafs, or was that left up to personal choice?

[Sycamore4Life]

My tattoo is on my back ( upper left shoulder).

[JerseyShore]

Traditionally it was on the upper right thigh:

http://wayton.ning.com/photo/841170:Photo:2925?context=latest

http://wayton.ning.com/photo/841170:Photo:2904?context=latest