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Colin Kaepernick's favorite tattoo is on the inside of his arm and reads, "my gift is my curse."

Relating that to his sudden rise to stardom as a quarterback preparing to play in the Super Bowl, Kaepernick is staying grounded by realizing that with fame comes scrutiny.

Every play is scrutinized, every word is dissected. He's recognized everywhere he goes in public, and he has more ticket requests for Super Bowl XLVII than he can fulfill.

Even his tattoo artist in Reno, Nev. is getting hit up for interview requests this week.

He hasn't even left for New Orleans yet, and he has done an interview with 49ers Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young. Joe Montana? Met him, too.

"Just keep going," was Young's advice in handling the pressures while preparing for the biggest stage in American sports.

Kaepernick's faith is out there for the world to see. It's literally written all over his body. He has "faith" inscribed on his right bicep, and "to God the glory" on his right arm as well.

Those are the two he kisses when "Kaepernicking," the touchdown celebration the second-year quarterback is now trying to trademark.

Kaepernick knows his tattoos get scrutinized along with everything else.

"Number one is kind of my way of saying, I don't really care what people think about my tattoos," he said. "I got them for me and to show people this is what I believe in. God has brought me this far, he's laid out a phenomenal path for me and I can't do anything but thank him."

That path will lead him to New Orleans, where the 49ers land on Sunday and begin in earnest their preparations to play the Baltimore Ravens.