The “Who Dat” chant’s origins are somewhat murky. Some historians say it came about in the days of late 19th-century minstrel shows and later showed up in vaudeville routines. In 1937’s “A Day at the Races,” the Marx Brothers perform a number — in blackface — called “Who Dat Man.”
“Who Dat” also is used in a 1937 MGM cartoon — now seldom seen because of its racially offensive nature — called “Swing Wedding,” which featured frog caricatures of black entertainers such as Ethel Waters, the Mills Brothers, Louis Armstrong and Cab Calloway.
