Stephen Young was not a big soccer fan. Then he went to a Portland Hearts of Pine game with some friends, and fell in love with the vibe, the community and the atmosphere at Fitzpatrick Stadium. That’s why he was in the chair Saturday at Dark Harbor Tattoo, getting the team’s shield inked on his right calf.

“This represents all of that,” Young said. “I went to that first game, and I was hooked.”

Young isn’t alone. This is the story of the love affair between a fledging soccer club and its fans. This city hasn’t seen anything like it. Portland’s other professional sports franchises, the Portland Sea Dogs, Maine Mariners, and Maine Celtics, each have a passionate fan base. Those fans aren’t lining up to get a tattoo showing their support, though.

Saturday, the Hearts of Pine worked with Dark Harbor to help their fans make that passion permanent. The team picked up half the tab for a Hearts of Pine tattoo, up to $150. The 60 available spots were snatched up in a matter of hours, and 40 people put their name on a waiting list, said team spokesperson Laurel Getz. There’s talk of doing this again.

Josh and Dana Ricker are active members of Dirigo Union, the team’s passionate supporters group. The married couple from South Portland didn’t get matching tattoos, but each wanted something to show their loyalty. Dana got a pine tree on her left arm. It reminds her of the team, Maine, and Minnesota, where she grew up. Both her worlds, coming together in one small piece of art.

Josh Ricker is a longtime supporter of Liverpool in England’s Premier League. He has a tattoo honoring that team on his shoulder, and now the heart coming out of a starburst on his left thigh to honor the Hearts of Pine. For many, like Ricker, a professional soccer club in Portland was just a wish for years. When you wait so long for something and it turns out to be even more incredible than you ever hoped, why wouldn’t you get some ink to immortalize that passion?

“We have a vibrant fan base,” Ricker said, looking down at his finished tattoo, drawn by artist Eli Whittington. “It’s a good representation of the club. I like that the heart’s in the center.”

Tattoos honoring favorite sports teams or moments are a tradition. After the Boston Red Sox won the 2004 World Series, breaking an 86-year run of frustration, the championship was commemorated on skin across New England and beyond. Another story goes that when the 2011 Boston Bruins won the Stanley Cup, many of the players got tattoos to celebrate the title. Yeah, you get your name engraved on the Cup, but why not get the Cup engraved on you, too?

“Tattooing is attracted to the idea of sports tattoos,” Zakk Clarkson said as he put the finishing touches on Young’s Hearts of Pine art. Originally from St. Louis, Clarkson is a huge Blues fan, and plans to add a tattoo honoring the team to his body’s collection.

Jess Marzza, co-owner of Dark Harbor, said sports tattoos aren’t particularly popular at her shop, although the artists have done a few. Seeing the Hearts of Pine logo all over the city, it made sense to partner with the team on this project, she said.

“It’s not like a ton, but we have our sports fans. We have some regulars who love sports,” Marzza said.

Just don’t jump the gun. You know there’s some poor fan out there with a tattoo honoring the Kansas City Chiefs for back-to-back-to-back Super Bowl wins. Maybe in an alternate reality, the Chiefs beat the Philadelphia Eagles last February. In this one, that tattoo is a reminder that nothing in sports is guaranteed.

With a tattoo, it’s better to be right rather than first. Let the ink dry before, well, letting the ink dry.

Tattoo artist KC Pyle was working on an UP THE HEARTS tattoo on the inside of Pat Ouellette’s left arm, just below the elbow. Pyle recently moved to Maine from Georgia, where he said he didn’t do many sports-themed tattoos.

“People start fights over them,” Pyle said.

The team’s marketing manager, Ouellette wanted something that showed his love for the team in a simple way. UP THE HEARTS is a phrase the club adopted.

“It’s timeless. I think it’s going to live forever,” he said.