Rick Reilly at ESPN has a very funny overview of the explosion of tattoos among professional athletes.
Excerpt:
And why would Shawn Marion of the Dallas Mavericks get an ornate Chinese character tattooed down his leg without having a Chinese person in tow? See, Marion thought he was getting his nickname, “The Matrix,” but instead got something that — crudely translated — comes out to “Demon Bird Mothballs.” Still, it would be a very good intramural team name.