NFL wages battle over use of ‘Who Dat’ phrase

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Who owns “Who Dat?”

Some T-shirt makers are asking that question after they were hit with cease-and-desist letters from the NFL demanding that they stop selling shirts with the traditional cheer of New Orleans Saints fans.

The National Football League says the shirts infringe on a legal trademark it owns. Separately, two brothers and longtime Saints fans claim they own the phrase, which was around before the long- downtrodden team’s inception in 1966.

The chant — “Who dat say dey gonna beat dem Saints” — is often shortened to “Who Dat” on shirts and signs and has been a mainstay at the Superdome since the 1980s. Saints fans, still jubilant after the Saints’ win over the Minnesota Vikings for their first Super Bowl appearance, have voiced their dismay on radio talk shows, blogs and Web site posts. Many say it’s something that simply can’t be owned.

“How can they put a trademark on something that’s been around for 150 years?” said Robert Lauricella, a 50-year-old oil-field sales representative. “Just because the Saints have made the Super Bowl, why does everybody have to make a buck?”

Shirts bearing the Saints cheer are big business as the team prepares for the big game against the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV on Feb. 7 in Miami.

Lauren Thom, owner of the Fleurty Girl T-shirt shop in New Orleans, said Thursday that she recently received a letter from the NFL demanding that she quit selling “Who Dat” shirts.

“I don’t mind paying royalties,” Thom said. “I just don’t know who owns ‘Who Dat’ or whether it’s in the public domain.”