Why Do Cincinnati Bengals Fans Chant “Who Dey?” It Starts With a Beer

If you said back in August that the Cincinnati Bengals were going to the Super Bowl, I'd have called you naive or dumb. But here we are, a few days from Sunday's big game. And if you watched the three playoff games, you probably heard the Cincinnati fans chanting "Who Dey" The full chant is "Who-Dey! Who-Dey! Who-Dey think gonna beat them Bengals!” And then the fans yell "Nobody".

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You may think this started with the current team, but the chant dates back at least 40 years and was popular with fans of the first Bengals Super Bowl squad that for the title at the Pontiac Silverdome against Joe Montana and the San Francisco 49'ers. It picked up steam again in 1988 ahead of another Super Bowl loss to San Francisco. Since then the Bengals have been mostly "Bungles" and the cheer has been snarky, at times.

But this young team, while it may be ahead of schedule, is pretty good and a win might not really qualify as an upset. But enough football, what about the chant?

(Michael Hauser via YouTube)

The New York Post says the story starts with a beer. Good start. Hudepohl Beer started being brewed in the Queen City some 140 years. It's one of those rust belt city beers like Stroh's in Detroit or Old Style in Chicago. Fans at Cincinnati Reds' games would yell out "Gimme a Hudy" and that phrase stuck for generations. And it morphed into "Who Dey?" And "Who Dey?" it's been for some 40 years.

And while researching this hot topic, I found this video from Bootsy Collins that might be a bit reminiscent of the Chicago Bears' Super Bowl Shuffle. (Only if they win.)

(Bootsy Collins via YouTube)