Who Dat Say Dey Gonna Sue Dem Saints Businesses?
While the NFL claims trademark infringement over the use of “Who Dat” in T-shirt making, Saints’ fans say that the league cannot trademark a phrase that’s been around for 150 years. I know that the Saints haven’t been around that long, but the “Who Dat” phrase has an origin that is so old that many feel it should be public domain. That is, everyone except the NFL, who has hit T-shirt makers with cease-and-desist letters demanding that they stop selling shirts with the traditional cheer. The NFL says the shirts infringe on a legal trademark it owns. Meanwhile, two Saints’ fans claim they own the phrase. Either way, it has been around for a long time, well before the Saints’ inception in 1966. Where the “Who Dat” originated is the subject of much debate. Some say it came about in the days of late 19th-century minstrel shows and later showed up in vaudeville routines. In 1937’s “A Day at the Races,” the Marx Brothers perform a number — in blackface — called “Who Dat Man.” “Who Dat” also
