I wouldn’t normally write a blog just on one Ravens player’s tattoo.



But the one Ma’ake Kemoeatu got on his back over the weekend is too awesome to ignore.

He got “KEMOEATU” tattooed across the entire width of his back (which is a very wide back).

According to Kemoeatu, a lot of Polynesians have their name tattooed on their back as a way to honor their family. Haloti Ngata has his last name on his back too, but it’s much smaller.

“Since people from the Polynesian islands are family oriented, your last name is everything you represent,” Kemoeatu said. “Everybody is proud of their name. Your name sticks with you all the way.”

Each island in the South Pacific has its own pattern, and thus Kemoeatu has the traditional triangle pattern reflecting his Tongan descent. The tattoo also has symbols that signify that Kemoeatu was born on the Tongan island of Vava’u, and fish that represent that he hails from a fishing town.

“Tongan tattoos are basically another language,” he said.

Kemoeatu’s tattoo artist, Fred Frost, posted pictures of the process on Facebook. It started with three hours on Thursday, then finished with five more hours on Saturday. Not surprisingly, Kemoeatu was “very sore” and has a newfound respect for those with tattoos. It’s his second, but by far the biggest.

Kemoeatu and his two brothers, including Steelers guard Chris Kemoeatu, were all planning to get tattoos together and surprise their family. But the Ravens’ Kemo is the first, and he now plans on hiding it from his parents (teenager style).

Below are a few other Ravens players with interesting tattoos. By the way, RaveTV will air awesome segments on the stories behind players’ tattoos throughout the season on Ravens Report (Thursdays at 5 p.m. on Comcast Sportsnet).