http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs/2009/news/story?id=4871697 The way I read it, the NFL doesn't take issue with "who dat" t-shirts, it's the t-shirts that have the Saints logo or other team identification along with "who dat" that they are trying to stop. With that said, the Saints logo is the Fleur-de-lis, which has been around for hundreds of years. I really don't think the NFL has much ground to stand on. They really are the No Fun League.
[video=youtube;cMSu4dOIsbg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMSu4dOIsbg&feature=related[/video] Also... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_Dat?
I get the NFL's position, but give New Orleans and their long-suffering fans a break. This would have been a time to turn the other cheek and just let some entrepreneurs make a little coin in an area still trying to recover from being flooded.
I don't blame the Saints/NFL for trying to defend their IP... they have to, or else they will lose claims to it. Hopefully reality (the Saints have coopted elements of French and New Orleans culture, not just the other way around) will be established in the courts, which are the arbiters of this sort of disagreement... Ed O.
They can't. from wiki: Some modern usage of the fleur-de-lis reflects "the continuing presence of heraldry in everyday life", often intentionally, but also when users are not aware that they are "prolonging the life of centuries-old insignia and emblems".[27] Fleurs-de-lis feature on military badges like those of the Israeli Intelligence Corps, the First World War Canadian Expeditionary Force, the 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team and the Corps of Cadets at Louisiana State University. They may be chosen for sports teams, especially when it echoes a local flag, as with the former Quebec Nordiques National Hockey League team and the former Montreal Expos Major League Baseball team, the Fiorentina association football team, the New Orleans Saints American football team and the New Orleans Hornets basketball team, and in coats of arms and logos for universities (like the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and Saint Louis University and Washington University in Missouri), schools (in St. Peter, Minnesota) and companies (like the Royal Elastics shoe company). The Madison Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps have a fleur-de-lis as their official logo, with members and past members sporting signature fleur-de-lis tattoos. The Lady Knights of the University of Arkansas at Monticello have also adopted the fleur de lis as one of the symbols associated with their coat of arms. The flag of Lincolnshire, adopted in 2005, has a fleur-de-lis for the city of Lincoln. It is one of the symbols of the American woman's fraternity Kappa Kappa Gamma, the American men's fraternities Alpha Epsilon Pi and Sigma Alpha Epsilon as well as the international co-ed service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega. It is also used by the high school and college fraternity Scouts Royale Brotherhood of the Philippines. Marc-André Fleury, a Canadian ice hockey goaltender, has a fleur-de-lis logo on his mask. The symbol may be used in less traditional ways. After Hurricane Katrina many New Orleanians of varying ages and backgrounds were tattooed with "one of its cultural emblems" as a "memorial" of the storm, according to a researcher at Tulane University.[28] The US Navy Blue Angels have named a looping flight demonstration manoeuvre after the flower as well, and there are even two surgical procedures called "after the fleur." The emblem of the Chevrolet Corvette also includes the fleur-de-lis. The current UFC Welterweight Champion, Georges St. Pierre, has a tattoo of the fleur-de-lis on his right calf. In the "Warhammer 40,000" universe, the Fleur-de-lis is the symbol of the "Sisters of Battle", often tattood on their cheeks or present on their helmets and the shoulders of their armor. In the video games "Saints Row" and "Saints Row 2" the Fleur-de-lis is the symbol of the Third Street Saints street gang. The symbol is also a motif in the "Kingdom Hearts" series, appearing inverted as a part of the Heartless emblem and stylized as part of the Nobody emblem. [edit] Symbol of Scouting Main article: Fleur-de-lis in Scouting The World Scout EmblemThe fleur-de-lis is the main element in the logo of most Scouting organizations, representing a major theme in Scouting: the outdoors and wilderness. The World Scout Emblem of the World Organization of the Scout Movement, has elements of which are used by most national Scout organizations. The symbol was chosen by Sir Robert Baden-Powell as it had been the arm-badge of those soldiers qualified as "Scouts" (reconnaissance specialists) when he served in the British Army. The classical description of this shape in Scouting literature connects the compass rose with the purpose of Scouting's principles—namely that Scouting gives one's life direction.
Not entirely true. The saints logo contains many elements, one of which is a specific illustration of the Fleur-de-lis. Other elements that make up the saints "Logo" include color and typography and the positioning of such elements. Selling shirts with the Saints Logo typography is just as illegal as selling shirts with the Saints "Fleur-de-lis", they are both elements that create the logo and identity for the Saints. Also, the NFL probably DOES have plenty of ground to stand on as all the logos are trademarked by the league and it's not about ANY Fleur-de-lis... it's about the SAINTS specific illustration of it.
