The NFL tries to claim 'Who Dat!' from Saints fans
by Chris Chase/Shutdown Corner
Who dat? Who dat? Who dat say dey gonna claim trademark rights over a two-word phrase popularized by beleaguered fans of one of the teams playing in this week's Super Bowl?
The NFL, apparently.
The "who dat" chant popularized by New Orleans Saints fans is under siege this week from the NFL. The Wall Street Journal explains:
The NFL asserted rights to ["who dat"] earlier this week through the Florida Department of State, and it has issued cease-and-desist orders against New Orleans vendors who sell Saints memorabilia adorned with the wording. It informed vendors that using the phrase is likely to "confuse the purchasing public into believing that your items" are sponsored by the NFL.
New Orleans locals are outraged and suspicious. The NFL, they contend, never cared about the quirky chant when the football team was dubbed the 'Aints a few decades ago, or after it was ousted from its home stadium in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina and finished 3-13.
There are two ways to react to this news:
1. Once again, the man is sticking it to the little guy: The big, bad NFL doesn't care about its fans, it just cares about making money. Why should a corporate behemoth that rakes in billions annually care that some shopkeeper in Jefferson Parish is selling a T-shirt for $13.95? Is this really going to put the NFL in the red? And what about some compassion for the people of New Orleans and everything that they've been through?
2. Yes, it's lame. But the NFL has to protect its trademarks: You can't sell a "Just Do It" T-shirt for long without getting a letter from Nike lawyers or open up a place called "Mick E. Mouse" and not draw the wrath of Disney. What's different about "Who Dat"? Sure, today it's New Orleans but tomorrow it's vendors in 32 NFL cities. Futhermore, the reason people in New Orleans didn't know that they weren't allowed to sell "Who Dat" T-shirts is because nobody wanted them until the team went to the Super Bowl. (Note: You can't write it on your bandwagon either.)
It's not like the league is saying that it owns the phrase "who dat." That's the attractive story and headline, but not the truth. The NFL is contending that vendors can't sell already-illegal Saints gear with the phrase "who dat" written on it. Call it parsing if you want, but there's a legitimate difference. Both are greedy. Only one is unjustifiably so.
The Who Dat chat has certainly been a major part of New Orleans' run this season and for a demolished city with a fledgling NBA team and a ruined economy, anything that drummed up any excitement was probably welcome. Now the NFL has stepped in and played the Big Brother card. I understand the NFL wanting to stop pirated merchandise so they better get out some official team gear with the slogan quickly or there are going to be some pissed off Cajuns. Maybe this time the NFL should have just let it go, at least until after the Super Bowl.
UPDATE: Apparently the NFL has caught enough shit over this and has relented on the issue. Start cranking out those t-shirts!
When i knew this news,i have the same feeling with the second react.
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