How a Bird Turned Into a Man - Chris Andersen Tattoos
Among all NBA players, Chris Andersen is the one who can proudly show off the most amazing tattoos. In this article I will try to describe this singular and often underestimated basketball player and his wonderful tattoos.
During this 2008/2009 NBA Season, Chris Andersen, also known as "The Birdman" (name he earned for his flying ability on the court and a couple of wings tattooed on his arms), has once again proved to be one of the best center in the NBA.
Nevertheless, he is still better known for his crazy hair-style and his many tattoos than for his basketball skills. Due to his tattoos and his defensive ability, Andersen has often been likened to an old NBA Star, Dennis Rodman.
Born July 7 1978 in Long Beach, California, Chris Andersen spent only a few years of his childhood in his homeland. As a teenager, he grew up in Texas, Iola, and he ended up choosing the University of Huston for his higher education. It did not take him too much time to understand he was not made to study. Therefore he tried to find an easier way to get a qualification at the little Blinn College in Brenham, where he managed to earn a diploma in just two years.
Nobody seemed to believe in his potential, as he was not picked by any team in the 1999 NBA draft. Therefore The Birdman had to start his basketball career in China with the Jiangsu Nagang.
In 2002 he finally joined a real NBA Team, the New Orleans Hornets, where he played some years with fluctuating performances.
In 2006 Chris Birdman Andersen was found positive for drugs. He got a two-year suspension for violating the league's drug policy. His career looked over. There are moments in life in which being a good player is not enough. You need to be a Man. Andersen had to prove he was not just a flying bird anymore; he needed the strength of a man to overcome the difficult moment and fly back to the rim again.
Well he proved it; he became a man and came back to the NBA in 2008 with his old team New Orleans Hornets.
Following the 2007-08 NBA season, Andersen agreed to sign a one-year contract with the Nuggets, where he is still playing. Andersen is currently second in the league in blocks per game.
During the seasons 2003-04 and 2005-06, Andersen bought thousands of dollars in tickets that were distributed among several different charities throughout the years.
But let's have a look at Chris Andersen tattoos, or at least the ones we could get a look at:
- A skull tattoo with a crown on his left biceps;
- Chains are tattooed on both his arms and his upper chest;
- Homage to his home state of Texas is inked on his right forearm;
- The words "Honky Tonk" on his stomach;
- Coloured wings are inked under both his arms; those are the wings of the only real Birdman in the NBA: An indelible sign of his flying ability and his love for tattoos. Curiosity: Andersen once admitted to crying "like a little girl" while getting his wing tattoos on both his inner biceps.
- A snow crystal on his left elbow;
- A basketball player making a Slam-Dunk on his right arm.
- Japanese signs on both his arms.
These are just a few of Chris Andersen Tattoos. Many others are visible but not clearly recognizable in many pictures online. Andersen got most of his tattoos compliments of his friend, tattoo artist John Slaughter in Denver.
Where the Denver Nuggets Uniform Came From
The Nuggets have worn a number of different uniforms throughout their franchise history. It is interesting to see how fashion impacts the look of uniforms for professional sports teams. Style and current trends go hand-in-hand with comfort and practicality. Uniforms have made several adaptations through the years. The Nuggets uniforms are no exception.
Although the standard uniform for basketball has always been shorts and a tank top jersey, the length and style of the shorts have changed over the years. For the Nuggets, the colors, the logos, and the styles have made lots of changes.
In the early days, the Nuggets were called the Denver Rockets and they were part of the ABA. From the early to mid 1970s, the Denver team wore purple and gold. The purple was referred to as "Columbine blue." After 7 seasons as the Rockets in the ABA, Denver renamed its club the Nuggets. With the change came a new look for the uniforms and logos. The new logo featured a pick axe on the chest.
When the Nuggets joined the NBA in 1976, the team changed the look of the uniforms. The Nuggets wore white jerseys with the word "Nuggets" written across the chest in royal blue for home games. The script and the numbers were trimmed in gold. They wore royal blue jerseys with "Denver" across the chest in white, trimmed in gold, for games on the road.
In the early 1980's, the Nuggets made a dramatic change to their team logo and uniform.
The navy blue jerseys were now trimmed in green and featured a rainbow of colors on the chest and back on both the home and away uniforms in the shape of the skyline of Denver. In the middle of the 80's, the "rainbow" road uniforms changed to royal blue.
The Nuggets again changed their look with a dark navy, metallic gold and wine color scheme on their uniforms in the 1993-1994 season. The home jerseys had the word "Nuggets" in a western-style font across the chest in navy blue, with dark red and metallic gold trim. The navy blue away jerseys had the same script in metallic gold, with dark red and white trim. These uniforms stayed with the Nuggets for a decade, until the 2002-2003 season.
In 2003, the Nuggets made yet another change in uniforms. A new color scheme replaced the old one. This time, the colors were powder blue, gold and royal blue. The western font stayed the same. The word "Nuggets" was written in powder blue with royal blue and gold trim on the white home jerseys. The games on the road were played in powder blue jerseys. The royal blue trim was changed to navy blue in 2009.
The Nuggets logos have changed through the years. When they were the Denver Rockets, the first logo was a basketball with the word Rockets written across it. Then it changed to a picture of a rocket with arms and legs dribbling a basketball. The colors changed to white, blue and gold. In 1974, the logo was a picture of a miner with a pick axe in one hand and a basketball in the other. This was referred to as Maxie Miner.
In 1981-1993, the Nuggets wore the rainbow city logo on their jerseys. In 1993, changes were made to the logo. This time, it featured a snow covered mountain peak in the background with the word "Denver" at the base of the mountain and a much larger word "Nuggets" across the logo. This logo remains the Nuggets logo today. The only changes made were in the color scheme. Today, the word "Nuggets" is written in gold letters, trimmed in powder blue.