Hawkeye fan’s Ferentz, Fry tattoos could soon have company

CEDAR RAPIDS - Brian Truesdell of Cedar Rapids has taken his love for Iowa football to the extreme - or, rather, the lower extremities.

Truesdell, 35, has four Hawkeye football-related tattoos on his legs - the standard TigerHawk logo, a 'bloody knuckle holding” an Iowa helmet and portraits of coaches Kirk Ferentz and Hayden Fry.

That's right, portraits of Ferentz and Fry.

'Everybody always gets the TigerHawk logo, nobody has this,” Truesdell said of a conversation he had with his tattoo artist at Neon Dragon. 'We talked about it to see what we could come up with.”

Ferentz admitted last season he had heard about Truesdell's tattoos and quipped Truesdell 'probably needs a hobby or two, would be my guess,” during a news conference.

Ferentz added, however, he appreciates any support, but 'I'm not sure I'd recommend that, going to that extreme.”

Truesdell is no bandwagon jumper, either. He got these tattoos three years ago, long before the Hawkeyes' 12-0 season was the talk of the nation and put Iowa in its first Big Ten championship game. He was a season-ticket holder before job conflicts forced him to give them up four or five years ago.

'Just being a big Hawkeye fan, loving the Hawkeyes and being here,” he said when asked how this idea started.

He also has tattoos of his favorite NFL team, Tampa Bay, and of Muppet characters.

'My mom's nickname is Beaker, so I have that one,” he said.

But his passion for the Hawkeyes is what has gained attention around the state and country. He's done television interviews and been mentioned on the Big Ten Network and ESPN. And, of course, this season is 'great” for a lifelong fan.

'We wanted to go (to the Big Ten championship game), but we couldn't get tickets,” he said.

So what's next after this historic campaign? His artist is working on a Nile Kinnick portrait, but there likely will be something to commemorate the 2015 season.

'We're going to come up with something, we're going to have to add something to it,” he said, adding he wants to wait until the season is over before deciding. 'One day at a time, like Kirk Ferentz says.”

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