The Battle of the Krewes

Kroo noun

an organization or association that stages a parade or other event for a carnival celebration. Krewes are associated especially with Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

If you ask a New Orleanian what a “krewe” is, you will get the following answer: “A group of people who spend 364/365 days preparing to celebrate the greatest party on earth.”

That party… Carnival. The official carnival season begins on Twelfth Night (January 6) and runs until Mardi Gras Day. The exact Mardi Gras day is the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday and the beginning of the Lenten season. Carnival is celebrated in cities worldwide, from Rio to Trinidad and Tobago, from Venice to Basel, Switzerland.

For the record, I am forced to state that Mardi Gras was observed for the first time in the New World in the city of Mobile, in the state of Alabama. But get real. New Orleans perfected it. And now that is out of the way…

According to Mardi Gras New Orleans, the Krewe of Comus was the first to parade with floats on February 24, 1857. For reasons I will not address in this post, the Krewe of Comus no longer rolls on Mardi Gras Day or any other day (how sad…). Feel free to find out why here. Comus still holds a masked ball with the Krewe of Rex, known as the “Meeting of the Courts” to *signify* the end of Carnival.

Since the first Mardi Gras, krewes have come and gone. Krewes went from organizations that refused to allow anyone but old, rich white men to be members to clubs that allowed everyone to be included. Bacchus and Endymion were among the first of these superkrewes, followed by Harry Connick, Jr.’s Orpheus and the women of the Krewe of Muses, famous for their beautifully decorated stilettos.

Of course, we cannot leave out the Krewe of Zulu with their coconuts. (Note: After several lawsuits, the Krewe decided it was too dangerous (and too expensive) to throw spears and coconuts during a moving parade. You can still get a coconut, but it must be handed to you.)

If you haven’t noticed by now, I said nothing about Tampa. Nice city to visit. Love Ybor City. But unless St. Aug’s band is marching and you have floats with costumed people throwing cheap, plastic beads, your parade is not on the New Orleans level. And you sure don’t have krewes. So Tampa Bay Buccaneers, why oh why are you taking the game off the field and into the virtual halls of the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board?

I’m looking at your annual events. Some are in honor of a mythical pirate named Jose Gaspar. Real talk, the boat parade looks like fun. But I’m confused by your use of “Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla” for your pirate and fireworks water fest. We New Orleans folks don’t take kindly to the appropriation of our traditions, especially when it comes to Carnival and Mardi Gras. We don’t go taking your traditions when all you give us are drunk tourists. (I kid… no. I really am not. We have toilets. Use them.)

Oh my… Was I a little too eager in my rush to chant “We Will Rock You At the TTAB?” Let’s take a moment…

From “The History of Gasparilla”:

Gasparilla began in 1904 when Miss Louise Francis Dodge, society editor of the Tampa Tribune, and George W. Hardee, then with the federal government of Tampa, conspired to promote the City of Tampa and its May Day celebration. Secret meetings gave birth to the first “Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla,” whose forty members planned to surprise the populace with a mock pirate attack on Tampa. With costumes rented from New Orleans, the first Krewe arrived on horseback and “captured the city” during the Festival Parade on May 4, 1904.

Emphasis added.

Besides Gasparilla, Tampa’s rugby football club goes by the name Krewe. It’s been around since 1991.

But New Orleans has Tampa on Krewes by almost 50 years. And we rented our costumes to them! So Tampa repays us by going all #krewelife? Was there no discussion between the cities? I mean… anyone else out there “krewe-ing it?” (Has our claim to this unique term, one that joins us together as New Orleanians, been a complete lie???)

What does all this Krewe history have to do with #trademarks?

On December 17, 2021, the New Orleans Saints filed two trademark registration applications with the USPTO for SAINTS CHEER KREWE (word mark and logo) for its cheerleaders. The Saints claimed the date of first use of the name in commerce as December 6, 2021.

However, the Bucs filed an “intent to use” application for KREWE on December 13, 2021. The organization claims that it will use it in connection with football merchandise, marketing and awards programs, and games and events. The Bucs call their fans “Krewe members” and offer perks to the members. They have already started using the mark on their website.

Tampa Bay’s KREWE application was suspended on December 6, 2022. The applications blocking it from moving forward? Two apps for KREWE FOODS filed by a Louisiana corporation in 2019. Hmmm…

On May 16, the Bucs filed to block the Saints’ trademark application “because it believes that it would be damaged by the registration of [SAINTS CHEER KREWE].” The Bucs claim use of KREWE, JOIN THE KREWE, KREWE MEMBER, MAKING OF THE KREWE, KREWE UP, THE KREWE, CAPTAIN YOUR KREWE, KREWE CARD, and MEET THE KREWE, “all in connection with football and in connection with goods and services that are related to football, including football cheerleading.”

In summary, the Bucs claim they were the first to use the term KREWE and believe there will be confusion if the Saints’ SAINTS CHEER KREWE trademark is registered.

Now Tampa… is this the thanks New Orleans gets for helping y’all out way back when so you could pull off a pirate parade? Y’all ungrateful… ahem.

Remember, the USPTO paused the Bucs’ KREWE application from moving forward to registration because of the two KREWE FOOD (now-registered) trademarks.

(SN: Why isn't “krewe” considered descriptive of a group? Several trademark registrations have the term disclaimed. Just thinking here…)

All in all… Tampa Bay and New Orleans will probably work this out off-field and out of court, just like they did back in 1904.

Wondering if they will let New Orleans borrow those boats... "Endymion on the River." Can we make that happen?