Finally, "Who Dat" became part of a chant for fans cheering on their favorite team. It has been debated exactly where it started, but some claim it began with Southern University fans either in the late 1960's or early 70's and went "Who dat say dey gonna beat dem Jags" - Southern University being nicknamed the Jaguars. Another claim is that around the same time it began at St. Augustine High School, a historically African-American all boys Catholic high school in New Orleans, and then spread to the New Orleans Public Schools. Another claim is that the cheer originated at Patterson High School in Patterson, Louisiana (home of Saints running back Dalton Hilliard). In the late 70's fans at Louisiana State University picked up on the cheer. By 1983, the New Orleans Saints organization adopted it during the tenure of coach Bum Phillips. In 1981, the Cincinnati Bengals fans and players had started with their "Who Dey" cheer.[1] It was also adopted by wrestling fans of the Junkyard Dog, who wrestled locally in the Mid South Wrestling area in the early to mid 1980s.
