Who Dat?

It could have been a great showdown.

If the Saints had marched in, Super Bowl XLI might’ve hailed Battle of the Blogs I: New England vs. NOLA. I blame the snow. Cold, white stuff is foreign matter here, and it makes us stop and look. It’s cruel to take our football while our heads are turned. Who are you, Chicago? Lucy from Peanuts?

It’s okay, Drew and Reggie. I was distracted, too. Football hasn’t held my attention since Super Bowl XXXVIII -- and I only focused on that game when someone at our Honesdale party yelled, “Woah! Is that her boob?”

But this time, I cared. Nevermind I don’t know a fullback from a backpack. NOLA needed me. If you haven’t noticed, things have been rough in my city lately. N’Awliners are becoming experts at uniting against -- against crime, bureaucratic neglect, stormy weather. The Saints provided a good “for.” Next year, gentlemen.

In the meantime, I’ll throw my “who dat” to the Patriots, since my may-un favors them. Who dat! The full version of this NOLA war cry, according to Wikipedia, is “Who dat? Who dat say they gonna beat dem Saints?” Apparently, the chant originated “in minstrel shows and vaudeville acts of the late 1800s and early 1900s,” though Wikipedia adds that it was “adopted by New Orleans public schools in the 1960s.” Er, let’s keep that last bit of information on the down-low, shall we?

“What’s the New England football catchphrase?” I asked Murky on IM this afternoon. He couldn’t come up with any, so I hospitably typed a few. “WICKED GOOD,” I offered. No smiling emoticons. If silence is stony, M. Words was Plymouth Rock. “HAVAAD YAAHD!” What about that? Click and Clack would have chuckled. “LOBSTA LOBSTA!!” I cheered. Finally, a response. “Not bad.” Granted, LOBSTA is more Maine than Boston, but it’s fun to say.

So, here in the fourth quarter of the Patriots vs. Colts game, I shake my gold and black beads and yell “LOBSTA LOBSTA!” Just don't tell Peyton.