The Saints

I organized my first tailgate party with a friend for the Saints home game on Dec. 2. It's such a popular thing to keep up with the Saints. You could strike up a convo with anyone on the streets about the team. Football is the biggest thing in town right now. The City nearly shuts down every time the Saints play. There have been huge disappointments with the Saints this season. Last year they were a game away from the Superbowl and I heard the City was going nuts for weeks. This year they may barely make the playoffs. I'm not a sports fan and especially not a football fan, but you can't help but get involved because of the local attention paid to the team. The team represents a sense of solidarity and pride for New Orleanians. The Saints winning season last year gave everyone something to rally around and feel good about a year after most of their lives were changed forever.

What I need to get the bottom of is why they are referred to locally as "Who Dat?" I know that it is derivative of New Orlean's Cajun slang meaning "who is that", but that doesn't explain how it became associated with the Saints. I've heard two confusing and different stories about the nickname. Neither satisfied me.

Either way Geaux Saints!! That's local French vernacular for Go Saints!!