Saints Symbol, What Is It Called & What Does It Represent?

[King Colt]

What is that ugly symbol on the Saints helmet? What is it called and what does it stand for?

[-JJ-]

I dunno...good question

[Coltssouth]

I actually ran a search on that while watching the game monday. I was wondering the same thing.

The fleur de lys

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_does_the_New_Orleans_Saints_logo_mean

[Dan]

The Fleur-de-lis is a very famous symbol used on a variety of shields and royal images, check some of its uses out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fleur-de-lis

[MAC]

I actually knew that from several vacation visits to Quebec Province.

It looks a lot nicer on the Quebec flag - which is essentially Colts Blue and White. I liked it (and Quebec) so much that I actually bought one, although I can't quite remember which box it's in. I have always hated the Saints uniforms on the other hand. Just pug ugly.

[jskinnz]

It is a symbol not just of the Saints but of Mardi Gras as well. I think the Hornets incorporate it into their uniforms too. As Mac said, it is clearly French in origin, which explains New Orleans (cajuns).

[-JJ-]

Oh I should have known that. Seen it on a lot of French military.

[21isSuperman]

The Fleur de Lis is a symbol of French culture. It was used as a symbol by many of the French kings, if I remember correctly. And it eventually became a symbol for French culture. You'll see it in places like Quebec or Louisiana where there is a strong French culture

[jskinnz]

Oh I should have known that. Seen it on a lot of French military.

So were the French in full retreat when you saw it on their uniforms? Must have been on their backs ;)

[-JJ-]

So were the French in full retreat when you saw it on their uniforms? Must have been on their backs ;)

probably. French are well schooled in the art of retreating.

Except my hero.....Joan of Arc:)

[Nadine]

Some people really like the Fleur de Lis.........outside of football.

Not me though, I just don't think it's pretty is all

[shakedownstreet]

i wonder what the legalities are protecting the saints logo. i mean anybody can print a black shirt with a gold Fleur de Lis on it right?

i bet there was a lot of it going on when the saints won the super bowl

[Coltssouth]

i wonder what the legalities are protecting the saints logo. i mean anybody can print a black shirt with a gold Fleur de Lis on it right?

i bet there was a lot of it going on when the saints won the super bowl

Good question. I'd think it would be very hard to enforce for the NFL any type of copyright.

[JCPatriot]

i wonder what the legalities are protecting the saints logo. i mean anybody can print a black shirt with a gold Fleur de Lis on it right?

i bet there was a lot of it going on when the saints won the super bowl

There was, and the Saints tried to crack down on it for trademark infringement. Don't know that I ever heard how the lawsuits panned out. I remember discussing it here (well, not "here" exactly, but you get what I mean) on the forum at the time. My argument was that you can't crack down on trademark infringement for your logo if your logo is a common symbol that has broad meaning outside the realm of your product/merchandise.

[shakedownstreet]

now that i think about it, anyone should be able to print a blue shirt with a horseshoe on it as well

if you google image search 'horseshoe' or 'Fleur de Lis', you'll see there are a lot of styles in which to draw them. so if you print it just like the team does, it's copyright infringement. just my guess

[JCPatriot]

I think the French government should sue the Saints for international copyright infringement......and the blacksmithing industry should sue the Colts.

[Yehoodi]

What is that ugly symbol on the Saints helmet? What is it called and what does it stand for?

As some have already mentioned it is a Fleur de Lis is tied to the French and can be seen in many locations across the world with ties to France . . . as we always know for the most part teams get thier names from something that has to do with the city (Pats - Patriots, Boston/1776, Broncos, horses in midwest, Fins, fins in Miami, etc.) . . .well the history of New Orleans is tightly tied to the French from the original French colony, named after the French city of Orleans, the Louisana purchase (US bought Louisana and most of the midwest from the French), and the war of 1812 between England and US (some forget that there was a second war between England and US) . . . well the last battle was fougt was the Battle of New Orleans in which the French pirate Jean Lafitte helped the US a great deal in that battle and help the US win that battle and thus the war of 1812 . . . btw, Yul Brenner plays a great Lafitte in the mid 50s movie "The Buccaneer" along with Charlton Heston as Andrew Jackson (Heston's Jackson looks like he came right off the 20 dollar bill) who was the American officer that defended New Orleans from the British . . .

so basically New Orleans is very closely related to the French, the French, to a degree, helped us win the war of 1812, and as such the French symbol Fleur de Lis is a likely symbol for a New Orleans team . . .

as for the Trademark, it is likely deemed to be generic and as such the French will not be able to sue others . . . however, as for the specific verson of the Saints, a gold colored fleur de lis with black unis, is closely related to a NFL team, if one were to design a shirt that was black with a gold fluer de lis, it is too close to the Saints . . .but if one were to put a gold fluer de lis as part of ones hamburger stand in Boston, no such ties and two cities and more importantingly, two different industries, food and sports, and as such less likley for confusion in the market place, the std to judge trademark infringement . . .

i dont want to date mysefl but on of my favorite songs as a kid was Battle of New Orleans sung by Johnny Horton . . .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsRK3DNoa_Q

I hope the above helps in answering your question . . .

[-JJ-]

. . . btw, Yul Brenner plays a great Lafitte in the mid 50s movie "The Buccaneer" along with Charlton Heston as Andrew Jackson (Heston's Jackson looks like he came right off the 20 dollar bill) who was the American officer that defended New Orleans from the British . . .

i dont want to date mysefl but on of my favorite songs as a kid was Battle of New Orleans sung by Johnny Horton . . .

I hope the above helps in answering your question . . .

Yeah but who played the girl:)

The song is right up there with Kelley's Heroes.

[King Colt]

Oh I should have known that. Seen it on a lot of French military.

If it's on the uniforms of the French military it must mean "drop your weapons and run away"!

[Blue Horseshoe]

Oh I should have known that. Seen it on a lot of French military.

Usually a white fleur-de-lis proudly emblazoned on a white field

[Yehoodi]

Yeah but who played the girl:)

The song is right up there with Kelley's Heroes.

i forget who the girl was, but it was a neat movie . . .

[GoPats]

The Saints stole it from the (now-defunct and playing in Colorado) Quebec Nordiques. ;)

[JoKeR]

i forget who the girl was, but it was a neat movie . . .

Its the same girl in Resident Evil. I can't remember her name.

[That Guy]

???

Milla Jovovich is in Resident Evil, but she was never in any movies in the '50s.

Was there a post I missed?

[Yehoodi]

Its the same girl in Resident Evil. I can't remember her name.

no different person, there are a few movies made with the name Buccaneers, one in '38, one in '58 and a mini series in the 1990s, you might be thinking of the later . . . Mira Sorvino was in that 1990s mini series . .. who kind of looks like the main actress in Resident Evil . . .

[tfrugal]

^{lame reading all the french hate on here. italian armies have the inept rep on the field not the french.}

the symbol is called the fleur de lis,

^{it means 'flower of louis' more or less.}

^{louisville and st louis, terre haute, lafayette, detroit all have names from the french, as thats pretty much who the first white guys were in this area.}

^{what, you think all they did was make french fries?}