@edgarblythe,
Origins
"The chant of "Who Dat?" originated in minstrel shows and vaudeville acts of the late 1800s and early 1900s, and was then taken up by jazz and big band performers in the 1920s and 30s.
The first reference to "Who Dat?" can be found in the 19th Century. A featured song in E.E. Rice's "Summer Nights" is the song "Who Dat Say Chicken In dis Crowd", with lyrics by poet Paul Laurence Dunbar.[1] A common tag line in the days of Negro minstrel shows was: "Who dat?" answered by "Who dat say who dat?" Many different blackfaced gags played off that opening. Vaudeville performer Mantan Moreland was known for the routine.[1] Another example is "Swing Wedding," a rarely shown 1930s Harmon-Ising cartoon musical, which caricatured Fats Waller, Cab Calloway, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Ethel Waters, and the Mills Brothers as frogs in a swamp performing minstrel show jokes and jazz tunes. The frogs repeatedly used the phrase "who dat?"
In the swing era, "who dat" chants back and forth between the band and the band leader or between the audience and the band were extemporaneous. That is, there was no one specific set of words except for the two magic ones.
"Who Dat?" Lyrics from 1937:
Who dat up there who’s dat down there
Who dat up there who dat well down there
Who’s dat up there, sayin’ who’s dat down there
When I see you up there well who’s dat down there
Who dat inside who’s dat outside
Who’s dat inside who dat well outside
Who’s dat inside, singin’ who’s dat outside
When I see up there well who’s dat out there
Button up your lip there big boy
Stop answerin’ back
Give you a tip there big boy
Announce yourself jack
Who dat up there who’s dat down there
Who dat up there who dat, well down there
Who’s dat up there, singin’ who’s dat down there
When I see you up there you bum
Well who’s dat down there
Who dat
Staged minstrel skits had frightened black people saying "who dat" when they encountered a ghost, or someone imitating a ghost. Then, the "who dat"..."who dat say who dat"...skit would play itself out. This skit was done frequently in short reels from the 1930s - 1950s and in some early TV shows too. Even the Marx Brothers had a "who dat" routine, which they included in their film A Day at the Races.[1] Often, a ghost was called a "who dat." An animated character, now banished to the archives as being racist, MGM's Bosko had such an encounter in a toon called "Lil Ol Bosko in Bagdad" in 1938.
"Who Dat?" became a familiar joke with soldiers during World War II.
Back in WWII, US fighter squadron pilots would often fly under radio silence. But things get lonely up there in the cockpit, so after a while there'd be a crackle of static as someone keyed his mike. Then a disembodied voice would reply, "Who dat?" An answer would come, "Who dat say who dat?" And another, "Who dat say who dat say who dat?" After a few rounds of this, the squadron commander would grab his microphone and yell, "Cut it out, you guys!" A few moments of silence. Then... "Who dat?"[cite this quote]
[edit] Origins of the "Who Dat?" Chant
"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 1960s or early 1970s and went "Who dat say dey gonna beat dem Jags" - Southern University being nicknamed the Jaguars.[2] 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).[1] In the late 70's fans at Louisiana State University picked up on the cheer. By 1983, the New Orleans Saints organization officially adopted it during the tenure of coach Bum Phillips, and Aaron Neville (along with local musicians Sal and Steve Monistere and Carlo Nuccio) recorded a version of "When the Saints Go Marching In" that incorporated the chant (performed by a group of Saints players) that became a major local hit, due in part to the support of sportscaster Ron Swoboda and the fact that Saints fans had been using the chant already.[1]
In 1981, the Cincinnati Bengals fans and players had started with their similar "Who Dey" cheer.[3] It was also adopted by wrestling fans of the Junkyard Dog, who wrestled locally in the Mid South Wrestling area in the early to mid 1980s.[citation needed]
After the Saints won the 2009 NFC Championship on January 24, 2010, against the Minnesota Vikings in the Superdome, fans from all across New Orleans, including fans who were exiting the game, started a Mardi Gras style "Who Dat" on Bourbon Street with modified lyrics, chanting, "Who Dat, Who Dat, Who Dat in the Super Bowl!" This of course being because the New Orleans Saints were advancing to the Super Bowl for the first time ever in their (at the time) 43 year history.[4][5]
[edit] Who Dat Nation
In recent years the phrase "Who Dat Nation" has become a popular term for the community of Saints fans.[6][7] According to Bobby Hebert, formerly a Saints quarterback and currently a sports commentator in New Orleans, the term "Who Dat Nation" originated after a highly anticipated 2006 game between the Saints and the favored Dallas Cowboys, which the Saints won; after the game, listeners from a wide geographic range called in to Hebert's radio show on WWL (AM), and Hebert commented, "Man, there's a whole Who Dat Nation out there."[8]
[edit] Ownership Controversy
In January 2010, the NFL sent cease and desist letters to several Louisiana t-shirt shop owners ordering them to cease producing t-shirts bearing the phrase "Who dat". The NFL claimed to own the trademark to the term "Who dat". The NFL also claimed that unlicensed t-shirts bearing the phrase would cause confusion among fans of the Saints about the official status of the merchandise.[9] The Monisteres, through their company WhoDat Inc. also released a statement claiming rights to the phrase, which they registered in 1983 after recording the version of "When the Saints Go Marching In" that incorporated the chant.[10] The Monistere's record is listed as inactive, meaning that it was not renewed upon expiration. The Saints organization, through their company The New Orleans Louisiana Saints Limited Partnership, also registered the mark "Who Dat" in 1988 when used in conjunction with "fleur-de-lis design",[11] but later the Saints released their claim of ownership to WhoDat, Inc., conceding that they owned the phrase.[12]
In response to what many are calling a "frivolous threat" and "bullying" by the NFL to scare merchants into selling only NFL licensed goods, fans across the nation in various blogs and radio call-in shows are calling for a boycott of all NFL officially licensed merchandise until the NFL formally recants its position on claiming the "Who Dat?" trademark.[citation needed]
The NFL's action also provoked responses from U.S. Senator David Vitter and Congressman Charlie Melancon of Louisiana, among others. Vitter sent a formal letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell criticizing the NFL's attempt to claim ownership of the chant, informing Goodell he would be printing t-shirts using the phrase, and daring the NFL to sue him.[13] It was later reported that the NFL had responded to Vitter's letter, stating that it was only seeking to prevent unauthorized uses of "Who Dat?" together with other identifying marks of the Saints."
