Who Dey
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Who Dey is the name of a chant of support by fans of the Cincinnati Bengals, an American football team. The entire chant is: "Who dey! Who dey! Who dey think gonna beat dem Bengals?" The answer screamed in unison, "Nobody!". "Who Dey" is also the name of the team’s mascot, a Bengal tiger.
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[edit] Origins
Although the exact origin of the phrase is disputed, it had been made popular by 1981 in Bengals fans’ cheers for their team during their run to Super Bowl XVI. Some fans would do the chant and other fans would reply, “Nobody!”. The cheer again gained national recognition in their 1989 appearance in Super Bowl XXIII. Due to the success of the Bengals team in the 2005 season, the chant is again gaining popularity. Different theories of the origin of the chant exist. One possible source is a 1980 commercial for Red Frazier Ford of Cincinnati, which used this tagline: “Who's going to give you a better deal than Red Frazier? Nobody!” Cincinnati fans who had seen the commercial many times may have just copied it when cheering.
The point of origin that has been disputed on a local Cincinnati radio station is that the phrase came due to a locally distributed beer at the time called Hudepohl. It is said that as beer vendors went up and down aisles at the Bengals games during their first run at the Super Bowl, instead of yelling out "Beer here!" or some other call to let fans know that they had beer, they would yell out "Hudy!" as an abbreviation of Hudepohl.
The chant was mocked by the Pittsburgh Steelers after their playoff victory in Cincinnati in 2006. Video has shown Steeler head coach Bill Cowher yelling "Who Dey?" with his team answering "We Dey!" in the locker room follwing the victory. Since then, shirts containing the phrase "We Dey" have become popular among many Steeler fans.
The chant of "Who dat? Who dat say they gonna beat dem Saints" originated in minstral 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. It became a familiar joke with soldiers during World War II. Finally, it was adapted by Southern University and New Orleans public schools in the 1960s, and Saints fans adopted it in 1983.
[edit] Trivia
- During The Amazing Race: Family Edition, members of the Linz family were often seen wearing orange shirts bearing the slogan "Who Dey".
[edit] External links
- Bengals.com - Who Dey's bio at bengals.com
