New Orleans Saints

The New Orleans Saints 50 for 50 series continues: No. 45, 'Cha-Ching'

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The New Orleans Saints throughout history have been called a lot of things. Some of those nicknames were not very nice. However, there have been some creative catch phrases that have been complimentary over the years.

Next: Cha-Ching!

25 SEP 1994: NEW ORLEANS COACH JIM MORA ON THE SIDELINE DURING THE SAINTS 24-13 LOSS TO THE SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS AT CANDLESTICK PARK IN SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Dunn/ALLSPORT

Personally this catch phrase was my favorite, just because of the era and the unlikely shoot to stardom of Seth Green. Green said it best here.

“This woman in New Orleans flew me to cheer the halftime at a Saints-Raiders game. I stepped off the plane like Luke Perry in the second year of ‘90210.’ People were losing their minds. It’s like we were speaking a language and the language was ‘Cha-Ching.’ I was 17 so I was still getting thrown over the hood of cars by police on occasion. [Laughs] Now I had two to six armed New Orleans police officers escorting me everywhere. They were giving me their cards and saying, ‘my wife wants to cook the ‘Cha-Ching’ guy a home-cooked meal.”

This catch phrase became synonymous with the 1991 season. Green and Saints fans can thank the Superdome replay monitor person for this hit. The person in charge made a decision to show various clips from commercials during the preseason games. This catch phrase caught on like red beans on rice. Coincidentally, the Saints started off 7-0 that year. The ‘Cha-Ching’ catch phrase seemed to be on every corner that magical year.

Football: New Orleans Saints Dalton Hilliard

As the story goes supposedly, the phrase was originally coined by a sportscaster Al Ackerman for the 1984 Detroit Tigers. The catch phrase seemed to catch fire during the late 80’s in New Orleans. WWL gave life to it with a promotional video and the rest was history. New Orleans being a very Catholic town was the perfect unity. Furthermore, Pope John Paul II just happened to visit the city in 1987, which also help the phrase to go viral.

Next: Faith, Hope, and Bum

UNITED STATES – APRIL 16: Football: Portrait of New Orleans Saints QB Archie Manning with coach Bum Phillips during practice, New Orleans, LA 4/16/1981 (Photo by Lane Stewart/Sports Illustrated/Getty Images) (SetNumber: X25516 TK1)

Bum Phillips came in exactly when the Saints needed him. The year was 1981, which was the year after the 1-15 season where the Saints turned into the “Aints” that year. Phillips was such a rock star in New Orleans. The folksy attitude won over everyone in the city. Once he arrived, there were bumper stickers, T-shirts and ball caps with the saying “Faith, Hope, and Bum.” No joke a song was even made about him. Find it here in this article.

NASHVILLE, TN – DECEMBER 11: Fans of the New Orleans Saints spell ‘WhoDat’ during a game against the Tennessee Titans at LP Field on December 11, 2011 in Nashville, Tennessee. The Saints defeated the Titans 22-17. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)

Of course, this is the most famous of all catch phrases to this day. As the story goes, the chant was originally heard by former sportscaster Ken Berthelot on a bus to a St. Augustine Purple Knights football practice. The radio eventually picked it up and then it caught fire inside the Superdome. The “Who Dat” chant is still alive and well in 2016. No one may quite understand this one unless you’re from New Orleans. Regardless, the chant will go into the best of the best.