Was watching football today, Giants versus someone-or-other, and lo and behold much to my suprise one of the players had a massive coat of arms tatooed on himself.
The player was # 66 for the Giants, David Diehl. Here’s a photo I googled, although this does not do the tatoo justice. Check the left arm…
http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/2350/04051766ii2.jpg
It was on the screen for only a split-second. Wondering if anyone else has seen this before. Any Giants fans out there who might know anything about this, please chime in.
I’d be interested to know if these are his personal arms on his arms. (pun intended)
UPDATE: Mystery solved. These are the Croation national arms.
You know I’ve often thought about the almost heraldic use of logos and emblems in football. I mean, as a kind of modern day gladiatorial spectacle (or some might say modern day tournament) because of the obvious alludions to war and war-like tactics used in the game, it makes sense that there would be an almost heraldic kind of display involved.
Looking at the logos and/or helmet decoration of the various teams in the NFL one can see that the following make use of beasts in a quasi-heraldic way (most utilizing the head couped or erased):
Atlanta Falcons
Baltimore Ravens
Buffalo Bills
Cincinnati Bengals
Philadelphia Eagles
Carolina Panthers
St. Louis Rams
Seattle Seahawks
Denver Broncos
Detroit Lions
Arizona Cardinals
Chicago Bears
The following make use of a logo that would make a fine heraldic charge:
Dallas Cowboys
New Orleans Saints
New England Patriots
Indianapolis Colts
The following use a helmet decoration that would easily be part of a crest if it were three dimensional:
San Diego Chargers
Philadelphia Eagles
St. Louis Rams
Minnesota Vikings
A very plain logo but a really simple coat of arms would be had by the Cleveland Browns: The blazon would be simply a field Tenne
http://excoboard.com/forums/18883/user/133625/222253.jpg
Of course the NFL logo itself is sort of heraldic, at least in that it apes heraldry. I always found this fitting because of the martial quality to football. Last but not least, the tabards may have been shortened but there is a very recognizable figure in football who precisely fills the role heralds had in both ancient tournaments and, in fact, ancient battles:
gselvester wrote:
You know I’ve often thought about the almost heraldic use of logos and emblems in football. I mean, as a kind of modern day gladiatorial spectacle (or some might say modern day tournament) because of the obvious alludions to war and war-like tactics used in the game, it makes sense that there would be an almost heraldic kind of display involved.
Looking at the logos and/or helmet decoration of the various teams in the NFL one can see that the following make use of beasts in a quasi-heraldic way (most utilizing the head couped or erased):
Atlanta Falcons
Baltimore Ravens
Buffalo Bills
Cincinnati Bengals
Philadelphia Eagles
Carolina Panthers
St. Louis Rams
Seattle Seahawks
Denver Broncos
Detroit Lions
Arizona Cardinals
Chicago Bears
The following make use of a logo that would make a fine heraldic charge:
Dallas Cowboys
New Orleans Saints
New England Patriots
Indianapolis Colts
The following use a helmet decoration that would easily be part of a crest if it were three dimentional:
San Diego Chargers
Philadelphia Eagles
St. Louis Rams
Minnesota Vikings
A very plain logo but a really simple coat of arms would be had by the Cleveland Browns: The blazon would be simply a field Tenne
http://excoboard.com/forums/18883/user/133625/222253.jpg
Of course the NFL logo itself is sort of heraldic, at least in that it apes heraldry. I always found this fitting because of the martial quality to football. Last but not least, the tabards may have been shortened but there is a very recognizable figure in football who precisely fills the role heralds had in both ancient tournaments and, in fact, ancient battles:
I don’t think it would be at all questionable for NFL teams (and NHL for that matter) to have arms—an effective use of arms by a sports team that springs to mind is the Orlando Pirates.
good Father, that is a very nice observation. i like it very much and i think you are right.
i would say that in truth most all sports could use heraldry as you’ve laid out for the NFL.
good post. 
