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from “who dat say dey gonna beat dem saints?”, an exclemation or cheer that was taken from a song celebrating the hiring of head coach b-m phillips in 1981. also, a saint’s fan.

this term has been morphed into who dey by fans of the cincinnatti bengals.
the pope: “we just drafted reggie bush!”

moses: “who dat!”

a fan of the new orleans saints. originated from the fan generated chant in the late 80’s, somewhat decent run of success, for the new orleans saints. see example saying.
who dat? who dat? who dat say dey gonna beat dem saints?!
a long time ago, people used to be embarrased when they had tickets to a saints(la football team) game. they would put paper bags over their head bc the saints, honestly, were not very good players (besides archie manning).
now, please understand, the cajuns in louisiana,(desendants from french, spanish, and german colonists+native americans in the area), had very thick accents.sometimes, and i mean most older cajuns have this accent, pr-nounce “this” as “dis” or “that” as “dat”.
so the people would point at the fans paper bags and ask, “who dat?”
there is also a singer that wrote a song with these words as lyrics a while back. in late 2009, a man by the name of cracka trax ft. dat boi pantha sings the song “who dat say dey gonna beat dem saints (put the hurt on ’em)”.he on the other hand was a saints fan bc of how they played that season.they eventually went to the super bowl of 2010…wait…we’re all caught up now!i hope dey win!!!
saints fan #1: “who dat say dey gonna beat dem saints?”

saints fan #2: “well, i’m preddy sho brett farves did, but look wha dat got em.”

-silence-

both:”hahahaaaaahaaaaaaaa!!!!!”

example written in thick cajun accent
who is that? aka…a cultural thang…none of the nfl’s friggin’ business!
who dat say deh gonna beat dem saints? who dat!?
a saying chanted by fans of the new orleans saints. the full line is: “who dat say dey gon’ beat dem saints?”
person 1: pardon me, sir. could you perchance identify that loosely -ssociated group of individuals loitering around over there? i haven’t got my spectacles and my glaucoma is acting up something fierce. it appears as if they’re carrying on about eating to faint, but that doesn’t sound accurate. perhaps you could clarify the nature of their business here while you’re at it.

person 2: you could have just said who dat.
“who dat” became famous as part of a chant for fans cheering on the new orleans saints (“who dat say dey gonna beat dem saints!). as a result, saints fans have been dubbed “who dats.”

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.

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).

by 1983, the new orleans saints organization officially adopted it during the tenure of coach b-m 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.
“who dat say dey gonna beat dem saints!”
is a line made famous by fats waller in the 1920s. fats was a jazz performer mostly known for his renditions of: “ain’t misbehavin’,” and “honeysuckle rose.”
fats: “who dat?”
echo: “who dat?”
fats: “who dat say who day when i say who dat?”

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