Might as well call the Saints the New Orleans Copycats.
Who dat? Who dat? Who dat say dey gonna beat dem Saints?
Sound familiar, Bengals fans?
Of course it does. They stole it from you.
The chant “Who Dat” originated in the late 1800s in early jazz music in New Orleans, according to nola.com, but was not adopted by fans of the New Orleans Saints until 1983 under coach Bum Phillips, according to whodatzone.com.
For the Bengals, Who Dey has been chanted by orange-and-black clad fans since a Super Bowl run in 1981, which makes Cincinnati the originator of the term in football.
Who dey? Who dey? Who dey think gonna beat them Bengals?
So far, only two teams. But, the Saints have lost to no one.
One thing is for sure. Both sets of fans have a lot to cheer about right now. Let the betting begin on which chant will be heard longest this season. Who Dat or Who Dey?
Reminiscient of ’05?
Not sure yet. It doesn’t seem like too many people are comparing the 2009 Bengals to the
team that finished in first place in the AFC North four seasons ago.
Who Dey Nation remembers. The team that was knocked out because of Steelers tackle Kimo Von Oelhoffen rolling into Carson Palmer’s knee costing them a legitimate chance of advancing past the wild card round.
However, the statistics look similar, especially after the 45-10 win over Chicago last Sunday.
Both teams began the season at 5-2. Both had all four NFC North teams as opponents on the schedule. Bengals coach Marvin Lewis is 6-0 against the NFC North, but the Bengals still have to go to Minnesota and host Detroit this season.
The following statistics are through the first seven games:
The 2005 Bengals rushed for 838 yards led by Rudi Johnson, while this year’s squad has accumulated 894 yards, led by Cedric Benson, the NFL’s leading rusher.
The passing attack, paced by Palmer both seasons, accounted for 1,754 yards in 2005 while he has thrown for 1,608 yards this season. Palmer has 13 touchdowns and seven interceptions this season, while, in 2005, he had 32 TDs and 12 INTs for the year.
Defensively, this team under defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer is more sound than that of Chuck Bresnahan’s group in 2005. The Zimmer-led bunch has given up more than 20 points in a game just once. The 2005 group, led by Odell Thurman and Deltha O’Neal, had a staggering 44 takeaways for the season.
No black Cats
for blackout
The Wildcats’ fans will be dressed in all black, pouring into Commonwealth Stadium looking more like shadows of themselves.
The players, according to the Louisville Courier-Journal, are going to wear traditional blue.
Could be a spooky night for Kentucky though, if it can’t overcome injuries to star defensive players Trevard Lindley and Micah Johnson. So far, Randall Burden and Paul Warford have picked up the slack left by Lindley, but Johnson’s absence could be more costly.
Very superstitious
Depending on to what level on the crazy scale you take your involvement as a fan of your team, you may or may not be superstitious.
For instance, I believe that the Bengals lost to the Broncos the first week of the season because I didn’t wear my lucky orange collared shirt with yellow stripes. I figured it out a week later against the Packers, when the Bengals were getting ready to blow it. I ripped my Chad Johnson (Ochocinco) jersey off and threw on the now-lucky shirt. As for the loss against the Texans, well, you can’t win them all.
Last Kentucky basketball season, I discovered that a brown long-sleeved collared shirt was my lucky charm. It worked a few times, and I shared the information to a co-worker at my former employer, who said, “What color is it? Poop brown?” Yeah, that turned out about right.
On this Halloween, I strolled down Google lane to take a look at some of the craziest superstitions that players have in sports.
I came across an interesting Web site called psychologyofsports.com, where it shows that baseball players have the most unique rituals.
Some examples:
‰Former pitcher Turk Wendell used to brush his teeth and chew licorice between every inning.
‰Hall-of-famer Wade Boggs ate chicken and started windsprints exactly 16 minutes before every game.
‰Former outfielder Moises Alou urinated on his hands to break out of slumps.
‰This one I remember from Fox Sports Ohio, when Ken Griffey, Jr. was with the Reds. When with the Mariners, teammate Jay Buhner had a four-hit night. Griffey sneaked into Buhner’s room and placed his bat between him and his wife. Griffey got two hits the next day.
I’m going to start eating chicken every Wednesday before picking high school football games.
Is KFC still open?
AARON SNYDER can be reached at asnyder@
dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2664.
