Allen Iverson’s the contours are slowly born on the plastic floor of an apartment building in Forssa.
The colors bring the image to life at the same rate as Sara Rokkanen waving his pen. With his other hand, he strokes the Rambo dog that has come to demand attention.
The French bulldog rests its head on Rokkanen’s left thigh, which is decorated with a somewhat similar image.
The picture shows another NBA legend, the late one Kobe Bryant.
Rokkanen is particularly satisfied with that, and he doesn’t want to. It was born from his own hands, like many other pictures on the skin.
Rokkanen has not counted the number of his tattoos, but there are many of them. The first one appeared on the back of my neck just before my 18th birthday.
Since then, they have appeared all over the body. The entire left hand is covered with images: a bear, a lion, the stonemasons of the Helsinki Railway Station..
– Finland theme, Rokkanen confirms with a smile.
The Moomins, on the other hand, are adventuring in hoodies and beanies. The jewelry also carries the Finnish theme.
In stereotypes, Finland is a backwater, where trends arrive a year later than its western neighbor. In Rokkanen’s opinion, the homeland is anything but.
– I am proud of where I come from. I want to carry it with me. After all, we are quite an exotic country compared to the rest of the world.
Rokkasen has an insight into that, as he has spent almost his entire adult life abroad.
But even though the homeland is dear, the desire to return abroad is strong.
And that’s exactly why he’s at Forssa now.
Just a year ago, Rokkanen was basking in the Catalan sun.
The journey from the coast of Spain to Forssa in November is long, both physically and mentally.
The municipality located in the western part of Kanta-Häme advertises on its website that it is “in the middle of everything”. The distance to the three largest population centers, Helsinki, Turku and Tampere, is about one hundred kilometers to all three.
However, in terms of its profile, the city resembles a traditional Finnish emigration municipality. Of course, there is a market, a town hall, a sports field, a school, nature, a sports hall, a giant supermarket – and factories. For more than 160 years, the city lived on the textile industry, nowadays the city is known for its food production.
Uinuva is an adjective describing Forssa on a Tuesday in November.
Hunting all the way through
Rokkasen has nothing bad to say about his new hometown.
Whatever you think of Forssa, a professional athlete can find everything they need here. There is an apartment purchased by the club near the home hall, next to a large supermarket. There are exercises twice a day and lunch provided by the club.
– I had other options, but this was suitable for this life situation. I miss an intact and complete season.
The last two seasons have been anything but.
Graduation from university in the USA was overshadowed by the corona that struck in the spring of 2020, which also ended the NCAA games ahead of time. His professional career in the Spanish premier league with Polideportivo Bembibre got off to a rocky start in the fall of the same year, when he was left on the bench.
– It was fulfilling to get there to try it out and hang out. I think the training went very well. For political reasons, I stayed behind the bench. There were American and Spanish players in the same position. The role was no longer enough for me, Rokkanen times.
The journey took from Spain Ville Tuominen to coach the Swedish club Helsingborg with a six-game contract. However, due to Corona, the games were reduced to three.
From Skåne, the journey took him back to Spain, now to the ranks of Andratx, who play in the second league. The club was Rokkanen’s third of the season.
In the fall of last year, the games continued again at a new address, still in Spain. Maresme played in the reformed Spanish second division and there Rokkanen played in a total of eight matches before returning to Finland.
The life of a professional athlete has been a dream, but not just a takeoff.
– It has not been easy and pleasant. Not knowing what to do next, is there work, is it good enough… But yes, there is always help for that.
In Finland, help was found in Kotka, where many of Rokkanen’s friends played. For a female basketball player, Kotka offers perhaps the best opportunities for practicing in Finland. This season as well, the team has recruited the most national team players (four) along with HBA.
So it’s no wonder that Rokkanen chose to go to Kotka “to train and keep fit”. A place to play in the team opened up like a stealth in December, when Linda-Lotta Lehtoranta moved to help the Israeli club in the EuroCup. Rokkanen’s contract was signed in ten minutes and in April the season ended with the Finnish championship.
Many of Rokkanen’s national team mates played in Peli-Karhui, and there are also other Susiladies players in Forssa. Silja Viida There are 10 international matches, Rokkase has 22.
As the name suggests, the club has been looking for a new start this season. If the team has previously been known for its relatively high-paid reinforcements, now we are trying something else.
The head coach Juri Heinämäki started as the team’s head coach with a two-year contract. Heinämäki, who received his training as a coach in Forssa, arrived like Rokkanen from Kotka, where he was an assistant coach for KTP’s men.
– We are a young team and everyone has been quite unfamiliar to each other, Rokkanen opens in the courtyard of Forssa’s sports hall.
Rokkanen’s speech goes back to the past season, which has not met the expectations of the people of Forsa. He is not satisfied with his own performances either.
– That’s also part of the point, the game can’t always go as it wants. The expectations, hopes and pressures have been set very high. Maybe it’s also the vice of every professional athlete, the Korisliiga spring 2015 newcomer thinks.
Rokkanen’s name was also not found in the list of 23 players selected for Susiladies’ November national matches.
But what does he think about the national team?
Rokkanen thinks for a moment and kicks the swing.
– If the opportunity comes and mental and physical well-being allows it, why not. I have luckily been able to visit and experience it there. We’ll see what the future brings.
Right now, he assures that he is satisfied.
Even the Rambo dog seems satisfied when it is squirming on its owner’s leg. Rokkanen has taken Rambo to his mother’s place, where the dog has been living during his assignments abroad. Now it enjoys its owner’s almost undivided attention always before, between and after exercises.
“Tattoos belong to culture”
Rokkanen has an open attitude towards the future. They still dream of a professional contract from abroad. Despite his love for his homeland, he describes himself as a citizen of the world: even his social media updates are always in English and often deal with the affairs of his former homeland, the USA.
At the same time, however, he promotes his other dream: a career as a tattoo artist.
The hobby, which started with a cheap tattoo machine ordered by my father online, has progressed from fruit to artificial and pigskin and from there to the skin of friends.
On his social media account, Rokkanen presents one more spectacular picture. Many of them feature an athlete, and many of the models also have a basketball background.
Rokkanen also sees a lot in common in the professions.
– Tattoos belong to basketball culture and music. In Finland, they may not have united yet, and I haven’t heard of many athletes who are also artists.
Rokkanen also completed a bachelor’s degree in visual arts at university in the United States. US laws prevented friends from getting tattoos, but Rokkanen pursued his dream during the summers in Finland.
– A couple of summers ago, I became an apprentice at a studio. I learned tricks and techniques from different artists.
Everyone’s path to becoming a tattoo artist is different, a bit like the path to becoming an elite athlete. As a tattoo artist, Rokkanen feels that he is still at the beginning of his path, although not quite a trainee anymore.
When basketball eventually ends, he hopes to make a living with tattoos.
– We’ll see how it goes. In Finland, or who knows, maybe even abroad, Rokkanen thinks.
Rambo moves in a demonstration manner on the leash. Sticks and a basketball that served as shooting props invite you to play.
It’s also time for Rokkasen to get ready for the exercises, for the rest of the day.
But before that, you might still have time to outline the next picture.