Just in case you’ve been living under a rock, the Super Bowl is happening in a little over a week, and the Saints are playing for the first time ever. However, in the middle of what should be a season of celebration, the NFL has managed to stir up some controversy by laying claim to “Who Dat,” the iconic phrase that Saints fans use to cheer on their team.
It all started earlier this week, when New Orleans vendors, including Storyville and Fleurty Girl, were issued injunctions ordering them to quit selling T-shirts emblazoned with the “Who Dat” slogan.
The NFL is insisting it owns the rights to the phrase, but many fans disagree, claiming that since it was started by the fans, it belongs to the fans and the people of New Orleans. They’ve stepped up to defend the merchants involved and to try to get the NFL to reconsider its stance-and social media has played a big part in helping the movement go viral.
That’s not surprising- The Saints have a large number of social media-savvy fans, and #whodat is a popular hashtag on game nights on Twitter. In fact, one of the shirts that Fleurty Girl owner Lauren Thom was ordered to stop selling was inspired by the hashtag and said simply “#whodat.” She told Nola.com that the shirt was “designed to unify the Who Dat Nation, not within a tweet, but through a shirt.”
News of the NFL’s move spread quickly via Twitter and Facebook, inspiring Facebook groups like The NFL Can Kiss Who Dat Ass and Defend Who Dat, status updates, and the #defendwhodat hashtag on Twitter.
The story has now been picked up by the national media. Both Senator David Vitter and his Democratic contender, Charlie Melancon, have issued online petitions requesting that the NFL back down. According to the Wall Street Journal, Melancon used email and Twitter to gather 1,800 signatures in just an hour and a half!
The effort seems to be having an effect-NOLA.com reports that the NFL has backed down slightly, allowing that ” T-shirts and items with ‘Who Dat’ and a fleur-de-lis logo unlike the one owned by the Saints are allowed as long as they are not advertised as being Saints or NFL paraphernalia” and that “Who Dat’ shirts being sold at the Fleurty Girl shop on Oak Street would be acceptable as long as the shop removes advertising referring to the Saints.”
See how powerful Twitter and Facebook can be?
