Christopher Howard Long is a former American football player who played in the NFL as a defensive end for 11 seasons. He is the son of Hall of Famer, Howie Long, and used to play college football at Virginia and was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in 2008. He also represented the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles before retiring in 2019. Chris has some pretty unique inks on his body. Let us take a look at the ones he has and the meanings behind them.
1. Wolf Tattoo
Tattoo: The former player’s left upper arm and shoulder are covered in a large tattoo of the face of a growling wolf on it. The words, “HIGHC MOTOR” are also tattooed along with the wolf.
Meaning: The tattoo of the wolf on his arm is a symbol of protection for his family, leadership, and loyalty. The phrase on his arm, “High Motor” is a phrase that his friends used to describe him during his college days. Chris was always working and had time for everything and they joked how he had more hours in his day than everyone else and how he worked on a “High Motor”. This led to him getting a tattoo of the phrase on his arm.
2. ‘Flowers’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The rest of his upper left arm, his bicep, and his shoulder is covered by tattoos of flowers and vines.
3. ‘Sugar Skulls’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The left bicep of the former athlete contains a tattoo of two skulls on it that have been adorned by colorful patterns. Such forms of skulls are better known as sugar skulls. They are inked in a minimum of four colors with some patterns in form of flowers on them.
Meaning: Sugar Skulls symbolize life. Flowers depict life and living whereas the cobwebs meant are meant to symbolize life, while cobwebs symbolize death. Burning candles set inside the eyes are a sign of remembrance.
4. King Tattoo
Tattoo: The upper part of his right arm contains a tattoo of two kings on it. Each one is done inspired by the design from a card deck, one holding a card with the sun on it along with a sword and the other one holding the sword but with a card with a star on it. Both the kings are done mirroring each other and have a heart just above their shoulders.
Meaning: The tattoo of the kings on his arm is inspired by the King of Hearts. Many people believed the King of Heart to be the representation of the mad king Charles but the primary symbolism of a heart is to showcase love, which is what the tattoo represents, love for the family.
5. Bicep Tattoo
Tattoo: Chris’s right bicep contains a tattoo of a building on it along with two little designs right the next to it. The lower side contains a design of flowers tattooed on it. The words, “Greetings from VIRGINIA” are also tattooed above the building.
Meaning: The tattoo on his bicep is a tribute tattoo to his hometown of Charlottesville, Virginia.
6. ‘Ship’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The upper side of Chris’s right forearm is covered in a large tattoo of a ship. The ship is sailing on high tides that are tattooed near the player’s wrist and has a dark background. The ship is shown to be sailing through the night sky and a greenish moon, surrounded by clouds and dark starry skies is tattooed above the tattoo of the ship to complete it.
Meaning: The tattoo of a ship can mean many things like a good life or bravery, or the transition from one phase of life and the beginning of a new journey, just what it represents here.
7. Owl Tattoo
Tattoo: The backside of his right upper arm contains a tattoo of an owl on it, sitting on top of a rose flower. The crescent moon is also tattooed right next to the owl’s head.
Meaning: The owl is a very interesting tattoo that is associated with the moon and the dark and regarded as a bird of intuition. The tattoo of the owl on Chris’s arm represents the purity of the soul and the bird also acts as the guardian of the bearer and his loved ones.
8. Whale Tattoo
Tattoo: The tides near his wrist and the watery background of the ship on his forearm, continues to the inner side and forms splashing waters. There is also a whale tattooed on his inner forearm with the splashing waves surrounding the whale’s body.
9. Word Tattoo
Tattoo: There is a line tattooed around the player’s right shoulder that ends with the words, “MY SHOULDERS“. The whole phrase remains to be seen in his photos.
