What Were They Thinking? — They’ve Suffered Enough, Just Give It to Them

“What Were They Thinking?” highlights products and presentations which just don’t make sense.

This video on CNN.com covers some controversy over merchandise using the New Orleans Saints fan phrase “Who Dat?”

The story itself is utter junk, playing things as the Big Bad NFL picking on small businesses, since the end of the video reveals that the NFL complaint is narrowly targeted to items which use the Saints’ name/logo/colors, and thus imply an approved connection to the team.

The real junk, though, is the commentator, who repeatedly implies that because New Orleans had to deal with Hurricane Katrina — and perhaps just as bizarrely, because the Saints have had many losing seasons in the past — the NFL should just let this slide.

What’s up wit’ dat?

Sorry, but that’s not how trademarks work.  You either defend them or you abandon them.  Maybe you license them for a smaller fee than usual, but you don’t say “Awww, how cute!  The team has finally had a good season, so give up the trademark so that carpetbaggers trying to make a quick buck can really profit!”

(How long does New Orleans get a free pass due to Katrina, anyway?  Do New Yorker’s get to hawk trashy logo merchandise for the Giants and the Jets in perpetuity due to September 11?  What about the Dodgers after the Northridge quake, or has their freebie expired?)