Who Dat

In three hundred years of existence as a political entity, Louisiana has yet to rise above its subservient colonial status. From its earliest days, the French, the Spanish, and the Americans have systematically expropriated the natural and cultural resources of the "gret stet" and left its toiling citizens with little in return other than the occasional put-down.. oh and a ruined coastline.. and a half-assed, federally designed flood control system.

One particularly grating example of insulting cultural expropriation by the ingratious Americans will be on evidence this Sunday at the Superdome where fans of the Cincinnati Bengals will inevitably bring their "Who Dey Think They Gonna Beat Them Bengals" cheer. "Who Dey" is wrong on so many levels from its borderline racist cultural insensitivity, to its ahistorical phoniness, to its absolute rhythm deafness, and finally its outright plagiarism.

The refrain "Who Dat Say Dey Gonna Beat Dem Saints" popular among Saints fans draws on a linguistic construction active in African-American speech for over a hundred years. The ties between this construction and New Orleans culture are unmistakable. It shows up in early Jazz, Vaudeville acts, and minstrel shows such as Paul Laurence Dunbar and Will Marian Cook's Who Dat Say Chicken in This Crowd.

Over the years "who dat" has shown up in various places. During the Second World War it made its way into popular usage via its appearance as a joke phrase among enlisted men (one example).

The chant "Who Dat Say Dey Gonna Beat.." is reported to have grown up in the 50s and 60s with the Southern University and New Orleans high school football teams before finally (inevitably?) being adopted by Saints fans in the late 70s.

Bengals fans began using their version shortly thereafter in the 1980s.. but obnoxiously claim not to be ripping it off. "Who Dey Think" is an obvious plagiarism because it has no observable basis in linguistic tradition. Even in colloquial language there are certain rules and standards applied to usage. While "who dat say" appears to permeate the culture associated with it, "who dey think" originates from an outside attempt to approximate that culture. In other words.. it's what happens when white people try to talk black... and yes that implies all sorts of racial insensitivity and condescension which I'll not go into other than to say Bengals fans are major douchebags.

"Who dey think" also makes much less sense as a cheer than "Who dat say" as the latter is an obvious response to a boast while the former clumsily presumes that someone might be thinking such a boast. "Who dey" is not only a culturally insensitive ripoff, it also lacks clarity. Plus it just sounds bad. Which one would you rather sing?

So go ahead, Bengals fans, invaders from the North. Rob us of our heritage. God knows we're used to it by now. Just don't expect to beat our football team this week. It's close to all we have left.