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Re: Blasphemy on NFL.com

WHO DATin' Bellichick and Brady with 5 minutes left in the game...priceless. The dome was SO LOUD. Mike is a beast.

Re: Blasphemy on NFL.com

Quote:

Originally Posted by Euphoria (Post 179702)

WHO DAT came first!!!

It was actually started by Souther University and LSU picked it up briefly. Saints fans started back in early 1970's but the team took it on officially in 1983. Bengals first used it in 1981.

Its ours and they stole it!!!

I saw the same thing happen with Houston Oilers had a fight song, got some airplay with it back with Bum was there and then other teams had there version of it cut.

The Wikipedia article on Who Dat tracks Euph's assertion:

Who Dat? - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Quote:

The "Who Dat?" Cheer

Finally, "Who Dat" became part of a chant for fans cheering on their favorite team. It has been debated exactly where it started, but some claim it began with Southern University fans either in the late 1960's or early 70's and went "Who dat say dey gonna beat dem Jags" - Southern University being nicknamed the Jaguars. Another claim is that around the same time it began at St. Augustine High School, a historically African-American all boys Catholic high school in New Orleans, and then spread to the New Orleans Public Schools. Another claim is that the cheer originated at Patterson High School in Patterson, Louisiana (home of Saints running back Dalton Hilliard). In the late 70's fans at Louisiana State University picked up on the cheer. In 1983, the New Orleans Saints organization adopted it during the tenure of coach Bum Phillips, though fans had been cheering the "Who Dat?" cheer since the team's inception in 1967. In 1981, the Cincinnati Bengals fans and players started with the now famous "Who Dey" cheer.

BTW the Cincy "Who Dey" cheer came from a local Cincy commercial. There are sites that claim the Saints "Who Dat" came from them. So there's still some dispute.

SFIAH

Re: Blasphemy on NFL.com

... on a related note, not so long ago I went looking around for the answer, and the earliest reference to "who dat" I found was a 1919 play named "Who Dat" which showed in theaters in Ohio.... go figure :)

Re: Blasphemy on NFL.com

It's in an old minstrel song and we did not copy it from the Bengals. Why would we copy ANYTHING from the Bengals? That is just silly.

Re: Blasphemy on NFL.com

The St. Augustine Purple Knights have been doing the Who Dat chant since 1975. It was even printed on Rally's towels here in New Orleans since the 1970's.

But the Bengals picked up the same chant (but changed Who Dat to "Who Dey") and began using it in 1981. They trademarked it. But there's not doubt that they stole the chant - because the cadence, melody, and call/return pattern are identical. It cannot have developed independently.

Re: Blasphemy on NFL.com

As for people arguing that who dat is somehow connected to modern, urban black dialect here is what I consider a fairly accurate Wiki on the origins and structure of the New Orleans YAT dialect.

Yat dialect - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Yat dialect - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It always pisses me off when Hollywood thinks New Orleans is Cajun accented, Cajun country sounds like backwoods Georgia and otherwise generally screwing up Louisiana on the big screen.

Louisiana needs no help cultivating its poor image.

Re: Blasphemy on NFL.com

Quote:

Originally Posted by gumbeau (Post 180698)

How does a Cajun accent cultivate a poor image? It is a mix of French and English and I hear plenty of it in and especially around New Orleans. It sounds absolutely nothing like backwoods Georgia.

And it makes for very good Boudreaux and Thibodeaux jokes. As for Hollywood who cares? If image is what Hollywood makes then the Northeast is all mafia, the South is all backwoods and the West is supremely intelligent humans. Which we all know is backwards.

I think the phrase is "Who Dat Say Goin Beat Dem Saints". Sounds like it was created in Lafayette to me if you put a "mais,cher" at the end. :p

a bientot

Re: Blasphemy on NFL.com

Quote:

Originally Posted by Euphoria (Post 179702)

This is correct. I remember in 1980 saying Who Dat gonna beat them Tigers. Never stuck. Figures it started with Southern.

Who Dat is so New Orleans. What do people say when someone comes to the door or on the phone in NO?

Who Dat? :bartinator:

Re: Blasphemy on NFL.com

Quote:

Originally Posted by exile (Post 180699)

I don't think you understood me.

No one from the City speaks like a Cajun. The City has its own dialect(s), none of which are Cajun. The Cajuns have several dialects of English and a few in French as well. North Louisiana (and by that I mean almost everything north of I-10) has various versions of the general Southern US dialect that are specific to the individual regions in Louisiana.

One of the great things about Louisiana is the linguistic diversity. You can tell within a few miles where a person grew up in Louisiana by listening to them talk.

Hollywood oversimplifies this and totally misapplies it. Outsiders come in and think everyone in New Orleans grew up in Jersey.

I've lived all over the country and I know the ONLY image of Louisiana that most people have comes from movies and TV.

And there was no slight intended towards Cajuns. I trace my maternal ancestry to pure Cajun. My grandfather spoke french and was beaten in school for doing so. The paternal side is New Orleans Italian and Port Barre French. I am 100% South Louisiana. It would not do to insult my own heritage.

Re: Blasphemy on NFL.com

Quote:

Originally Posted by gumbeau (Post 180714)

Sorry gumbeau. I did indeed misunderstand and you make good points. Hollywood is Hollywood. It will never change. New Orleans wasn't part of the original Louisiana purchase and was a region of West Florida. Not much French heritage I presume.