Where Who Dat comes from?

nephew, not son. But indeed, i think ur right bout the chant.

What year did Patterson start that cheer?

I think Saints fans ripped it off from the Bengals fans' "Who Dey" chat. They started it in '81 (their first Super Bowl year), and a lot of LSU/Saints fans down here also followed Cincinnati because Charles Alexander was playing for the Bengals at the time. They changed it from 'Who Dey' to 'Who Dat'.

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I think Saints fans ripped it off from the Bengals fans' "Who Dey" chat. They started it in '81 (their first Super Bowl year), and a lot of LSU/Saints fans down here also followed Cincinnati because Charles Alexander was playing for the Bengals at the time. They changed it from 'Who Dey' to 'Who Dat'.

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I do believe that's correct. At least one source believes it as well. LINK

I know it's wikipedia, but that's what i've always understood to be the origins.

Wikipedia

The chant of "Who dat? Who dat say they gonna beat dem Saints" 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 Night's" is the song "Who Dat Say Chicken In dis Crowd."

"Who dat" is the name of the 4th single off of The Recession by Young Jeezy. Dey say who dat n*gga we dat.

"Who dat" was also used in the Lil' Wayne single "A Milli". Who dat say they gon beat Lil Wayne? My name aint BIC but I keep dat flame mane.

"Who dat?" was used as a tag line in the days of Negro minstrel shows. "Who dat?" "Who dat say who dat?" Many different black-faced gags played off that opening.

One example is an old 1930s Harmon-Ising cartoon musical on Turner Classic Movies which included caricatures of Fats Waller, Cab Calloway, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Ethel Waters, and the Mills Brothers. Called "Swing Wedding," the cartoon seldom sees the light of day because it's viewed as racist in its portrayal of blacks. They were frogs in a swamp, doing minstrel show jokes and cutting loose with 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...made up on the spot. 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. 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?"

The "Who Dat?" Cheer

Finally, "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 1960's or early 70's and went "Who dat say they gonna beat dem Jags" - Southern University being nicknamed the Jaguars. There's also those who claim around the same time it began at St. Augustine High School, an all boys Catholic high school in New Orleans for African-Americans. It then quickly spread to New Orleans Public Schools. Then in the late 70's fans at Louisiana State University (LSU) picked up on it. In 1983, New Orleans Saints fans adopted it during the tenure of Coach Bum Phillips. In 1981, the Cincinnati Bengals fans and players started with the now famous "Who Dey" cheer. 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.

While the debate goes on as to who gets to claim to be the originators of the now famous "Who Dat" cheer, the one thing all agree on is it began in southeast Louisiana in the New Orleans-Baton Rouge area.