Who Dat? The NFL Messing Things Up Again, Dat’s Who!
Who Dat? The National Football League says, “WE DAT!”
There is an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal’s weekend edition on the famous battle cry of New Orleans’ faithful for their football team. “Who dat” has endured the test of time, which includes substantially more losses than wins for the Saints. It’s a cultural colloquialism that nobody outside the Gulf Coast cared about.
Until now.
The NFL, in it’s infinite wisdom, has sent out cease and desist orders to all New Orleans vendors who were printing “Who Dat” shirts 24/7 in the wake of the team’s first Super Bowl appearance. The NFL says they own the phrase. Really? I didn’t think you could own a common phrase that has been used since at least the early 1970’s and started with a high school football team in New Orleans. But wait. There’s money to be gained and licensing to be had. So in jumps NFL commissioner and phrase baron Roger Goodell to dispose of all those pesky entrepreneurs trying to horn in on their town’s success. If anyone is going to make money on the Saints, it’s the National Football League! The NFL says the Saints own it…which means revenue for the league.
This reeks of Creole’ Jambalaya gone bad.
The NFL never cared about the name before. Just like they never cared about Seattle’s “12th Man” until we started making waves as a franchise. In a time where New Orleans should be reveling in the glory of their first Super Bowl in 41 years, the NFL is committing unsportsmanlike conduct. Heck, this even draws bipartisan support from the two congressional delegates in Louisiana who have thrown the red flag at the NFL and called on Goodell to reverse the call. I wouldn’t hold my breath.
The NFL needs to realize that they are a business of the people. This type of fatuous behavior always ends up making them look bad in the eyes of those who are in effect their clientele. They still hold on to the belief that they are powerful enough to withstand anything from player strikes to Pro Bowl fiascos, and they may be right. In the meantime, they come off looking foolish.
Who dat think they gonna beat those Saints?
The National Football League attorneys, dat’s who!
Read the Wall Street Journal article
© 2010 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved
Great post, Dan. I’ve heard that if the Saints logo or name appears with the phrase, the NFL is in a strong position. However, if the phrase alone appears on apparel, the NFL’s claim is dubious. Why does the NFL wait until Super Bowl week to claim they own it? This weakens the NFL’s position. You can’t wait to enforce a claim of trademark infringement until it becomes a material issue or you run the risk of giving up your rights to that trademark enforcement.
Great point, Dave. I actually don’t think either the logo or the name are on the shirts. It smells of the NFL trying to cash in.
The NFL is a business, but it’s generally a very well run business. They don’t like bad PR.
I think it’ll take just the right amount of public pressure and the NFL will cave faster than it took Tiger to break his vows.