In response to "Yeee-Haaaa!," my post about the Saints' victory--which ended with "Bless you, boys"--Stewart commented:"Okay, first, you can't say BLESS YOU BOYS. That's a Detroit Tigers' slogan, and one that was only used really in 1984."Stewart, the Saints have been using "Bless you, boys" as their slogan for years. A local TV station even uses it in its advertisements--part of its "we're all about New Orleans" theme (see graphic). I can't say how long the slogan has been used here, but I've heard it as part of Saints fervor for decades. The Saints have been around for 40 years--I remember when the team first began playing--and "Bless you, boys" seems always to have been echoing through the airwaves. If I had time, I would see how far back an online search could trace the Saints' use of the term. (I love to pursue academic questions.)
Of course, it's also possible that Saints fans "borrowed" the phrase from the '84 Detroit Tigers. After all, it's a slogan that goes perfectly with our team's name, yes?
Thanks to both Stewart and Sidney for commenting and sending good wishes.
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2 comments:
Sphinx, if BLESS YOU BOYS gets your team into the SUPERBOWL and wins the whole thing for you, then...BLESS YOU BOYS.
My knowledge of the term goes to back to a local sportscaster who coined it in 84. His name was Al Ackerman, and he worked for the network WDIV. At that time Tigers games had not yet been bought by the FOX MONSTER. This was the team that went 35-5 to start the season.
The whole city picked up the phrase and we went wild. Now, this last year, as the Tigers were pounding their way into the series, some local guys tried reigniting the phrase, but that was then and this was now.
So, Saints: "Bless You Boys!!"
You guys can keep this until April, when baseball season again rolls around. Then, I think the Tigers are going to need it back...just until October.
Speaking of quasi-religious slogans and the 1980s, remember the "Faith, Hope and Bum" bumper stickers when Bum Phillips was hired?
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