Lindy's whining about cowbells.

NutherT · Sep 16, 2008

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 <div style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 10px; WIDTH: 520px"> <h3 style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px">Cowbells and riverboat horns ... bogus rules and fair play</h3> <h2>Editor's Point, Counterpoint</h2>By Lyn Scarbrough , Monday September 15, 2008 RE: Tennessee, Mississippi State <div id="story" style="WIDTH: 515px; PADDING-TOP: 15px"> (Editor's note: Ben Cook will offer a Counterpoint to this column on Tuesday.)

Neyland Stadium is nestled up against the banks of the Tennessee River. By the thousands, Big Orange fans come to home games by boat, tying them together four or five abreast for a floating party, hours … if not days … before kickoff.

They call them the "Volunteer Navy." Keep that one in mind for later.

Before this gets started, I want to say that I've always liked Mississippi State. When I sent in college applications (which was a long, long time ago), I only mailed envelopes to two colleges. One of them was Mississippi State. I like their us-against-them approach. I like their small town setting. I like their loyalty and dedication despite a lower echelon football existence, with a few exceptions, during the entire history of the Southeastern Conference.

But, they have a problem. It's been there for years, growing in its openness, disrespect and flagrance. Growing to the point that it's no longer a cute little nuance unique to Mississippi State.

Cowbells.

And, because they have a cow bell problem, the Southeastern Conference has a cow bell problem. Noise is the problem during games. But, as bad as that is, the integrity and fairness problem that it exposes for the SEC is worse. 
The Southeastern Conference established the artificial noisemaker rule more than three decades ago. Official penalties were established in 2002.

Before the 2006 season, the NCAA Football Rules Committee cut out the rule against "crowd noise," which brought into question the SEC's artificial noisemaker ban. But, the NCAA granted the SEC's request to keep its penalties against any man-made noisemaker used during football games. 
You have to wonder now why the conference made that request in the first place. 
For the record, here is what the rule says, along with the prescribed penalties:

* Artificial noisemakers shall not be permitted to be brought into or used in SEC football stadiums. Each institution should have statements printed on tickets and notices to the effect that such noisemakers will not be permitted inside its competition areas.

* Penalties for violations - Game officials are responsible for enforcing the ban and are given procedures to remedy violations:

-- If fans in the stands significantly use artificial noisemakers, the first violation brings a referee's timeout and a verbal warning over the stadium's public address system.

-- The second violation brings a five-yard penalty against the team.

-- The third violation and any following violations bring a 15-yard penalty against the offending team.

If that procedure had been followed at Mississippi State's home game on Saturday night, it would have set a new record for most penalty yards for a single team in an entire season[/i] in NCAA history … and the record would have been set against the Bulldogs in just that one game alone.

I'm not sure if there is also a procedure for removing violators from the stadium, but if so, the East stands would have been virtually empty by the time they finished the national anthem.

The largest number of violators were in the student section. It's not an exaggeration to estimate 5,000 cowbells in that area alone. But, they were generously spread out throughout the stadium with thousands more creating the echoing stereo effect.

How bad has it gotten?

They shook the cowbells during their own alma mater. They shook the cowbells before the end of the national anthem. When four military jets flew overhead before kickoff, the cowbells were so loud that on the sideline they drowned out the jet's sonic boom. That's not a joke.

But, that's a mere whisper compared to game time. Before and during literally every offensive snap for the opposing team, the obtrusion of the cow bell barrage is deafening.

Can it make a difference? You decide.

On Saturday night, State's defense found itself backed up to its own 10-yard line, facing a potential knockout blow. Two plays … and two illegal procedure penalties … later, there was a missed field goal.

And, that happened throughout the night. The opposition had a dozen penalties costing almost 100 yards of field position, many called for early movement in the line or other illegal procedure. Can that make a difference? In a game where your offense can only generate 114 total yards, it can certainly help keep the game close. There were twice as many penalties called against State's opponent as State had first downs on offense. Again, that's not a joke.

But the bigger issues are un-enforced rules and fairness.

Signs outside the entrances to Davis Wade Stadium say "no articificial noisemakers." Those might as well say "no shoes allowed" because the two are being enforced equally.

In checking the history of the noisemaker rule, I found this quote from then-MSU athletic director Larry Templeton in 2003:

"We don't like the rule, but we accept it being a member of this conference. We're going to abide by the rules of this conference."

I wonder what happened to that.

One sponsor even touts the cowbells with a full-page ad in the athletic department's game day program … "More Cowbell." It has become that acceptable to openly violate the rules.

I've always considered it a privilege to cover Southeastern Conference sports, the finest in the country overall, especially when it comes to football. But, this cow bell thing, and the increasing level of its magnitude and interference, flies in the face of how the SEC wants to be perceived.

Rules should not exist if they are flagrantly broken, with the near-official sanction of the school and the conference supporting the violators. One school should not be allowed a glaring home field advantage, while 11 other schools are held to a different standard.

The answer is simple. Don't let them into the stadium. Period.

They check women's purses at the entrance. They check backpacks. They even check binoculars cases for smuggled bourbon. They can check for cowbells. But, of course, no checking would be necessary. They are carried openly and shaken loudly outside and inside the stadium. They're not hard to find. And, they're not hard to stop.

So, of course the Southeastern Conference acknowledges the problem and has vowed to fix it, right?

SEC Commissioner Mike Slive was in the Starkville press box on Saturday night.

I didn't personally hear the commissioner's comments about cowbells at the game, but here is what he was quoted as saying:

"You sit here and think you should do something."

You're right[/i] commissioner, you should[/i] do something.

"It's a playing rule, not a game management rule."

What!!! A rule is a rule. It's either being broken or it's not. A person in Davis Wade Stadium would have to be both deaf and blind not to hear and see that it is a major, divisive, inequitable problem.

Game management? For heaven's sake, manage the game.

And, my favorite of Slive's reported quotes:

"Actually, I've been down there before and it's not as loud as is sounds up here (in the press box)."

Commissioner, what game were you attending? I covered that game on Saturday night, both in the press box early, then on the sideline for most of the game. I was on both sides of the field and in both end zones. It was loud in the press box. It was much, much louder down there. People standing just a few feet from each other on the sideline would give up trying to even talk. No need. Might as well use sign language.

Here's the bottom line:

If you're not going to enforce a rule equitably and fairly for everybody, get rid of it.

Stop being hypocrites and stop looking the other way so that one team can flagrantly thumb its nose at the conference and their opponents … or else allow every other team the liberty to do the same thing. What's good for State should be good for everybody else.

Which gets us back to the "Volunteer Navy."

Every boat on the Tennessee River has a horn. Probably one of those loud air-horns that are used to greet other boaters or signal oncoming traffic.

And, certainly those boats hold as much tradition and significance for Tennessee fans as cowbells do for Mississippi State. (State's mascot is a bulldog. Exactly how does that equate to cowbells?)

Mississippi State plays in Knoxville on October 18.

So, since the SEC would want to apply their rules fairly and wouldn't penalize one school for something when it doesn't penalize all schools … what if all of those crewmen in the Volunteer Navy brought their air-horns into Neyland Stadium?

Of course, they wouldn't blow them during their own alma mater. And, I'm sure that they would show respect to our national anthem and keep them quiet then. But, what if every time Mississippi State got into an offensive huddle, they started blaring those horns. As State came up to the line of scrimmage, they got even louder. And, they saved their highest decibels for the seconds before the ball is supposed to be snapped. And, they never stopped. They did it on every State offensive play. Every one.

I wonder how "game management" would interpret those air-horns?

Anchors aweigh! </div> </div>

NutherT · Sep 16, 2008

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 <div style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 10px; WIDTH: 520px"> <h3 style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px">Cowbells and riverboat horns ... bogus rules and fair play</h3> <h2>Editor's Point, Counterpoint</h2>By Lyn Scarbrough , Monday September 15, 2008 RE: Tennessee, Mississippi State <div id="story" style="WIDTH: 515px; PADDING-TOP: 15px"> (Editor's note: Ben Cook will offer a Counterpoint to this column on Tuesday.)

Neyland Stadium is nestled up against the banks of the Tennessee River. By the thousands, Big Orange fans come to home games by boat, tying them together four or five abreast for a floating party, hours … if not days … before kickoff.

They call them the "Volunteer Navy." Keep that one in mind for later.

Before this gets started, I want to say that I've always liked Mississippi State. When I sent in college applications (which was a long, long time ago), I only mailed envelopes to two colleges. One of them was Mississippi State. I like their us-against-them approach. I like their small town setting. I like their loyalty and dedication despite a lower echelon football existence, with a few exceptions, during the entire history of the Southeastern Conference.

But, they have a problem. It's been there for years, growing in its openness, disrespect and flagrance. Growing to the point that it's no longer a cute little nuance unique to Mississippi State.

Cowbells.

And, because they have a cow bell problem, the Southeastern Conference has a cow bell problem. Noise is the problem during games. But, as bad as that is, the integrity and fairness problem that it exposes for the SEC is worse. 
The Southeastern Conference established the artificial noisemaker rule more than three decades ago. Official penalties were established in 2002.

Before the 2006 season, the NCAA Football Rules Committee cut out the rule against "crowd noise," which brought into question the SEC's artificial noisemaker ban. But, the NCAA granted the SEC's request to keep its penalties against any man-made noisemaker used during football games. 
You have to wonder now why the conference made that request in the first place. 
For the record, here is what the rule says, along with the prescribed penalties:

* Artificial noisemakers shall not be permitted to be brought into or used in SEC football stadiums. Each institution should have statements printed on tickets and notices to the effect that such noisemakers will not be permitted inside its competition areas.

* Penalties for violations - Game officials are responsible for enforcing the ban and are given procedures to remedy violations:

-- If fans in the stands significantly use artificial noisemakers, the first violation brings a referee's timeout and a verbal warning over the stadium's public address system.

-- The second violation brings a five-yard penalty against the team.

-- The third violation and any following violations bring a 15-yard penalty against the offending team.

If that procedure had been followed at Mississippi State's home game on Saturday night, it would have set a new record for most penalty yards for a single team in an entire season[/i] in NCAA history … and the record would have been set against the Bulldogs in just that one game alone.

I'm not sure if there is also a procedure for removing violators from the stadium, but if so, the East stands would have been virtually empty by the time they finished the national anthem.

The largest number of violators were in the student section. It's not an exaggeration to estimate 5,000 cowbells in that area alone. But, they were generously spread out throughout the stadium with thousands more creating the echoing stereo effect.

How bad has it gotten?

They shook the cowbells during their own alma mater. They shook the cowbells before the end of the national anthem. When four military jets flew overhead before kickoff, the cowbells were so loud that on the sideline they drowned out the jet's sonic boom. That's not a joke.

But, that's a mere whisper compared to game time. Before and during literally every offensive snap for the opposing team, the obtrusion of the cow bell barrage is deafening.

Can it make a difference? You decide.

On Saturday night, State's defense found itself backed up to its own 10-yard line, facing a potential knockout blow. Two plays … and two illegal procedure penalties … later, there was a missed field goal.

And, that happened throughout the night. The opposition had a dozen penalties costing almost 100 yards of field position, many called for early movement in the line or other illegal procedure. Can that make a difference? In a game where your offense can only generate 114 total yards, it can certainly help keep the game close. There were twice as many penalties called against State's opponent as State had first downs on offense. Again, that's not a joke.

But the bigger issues are un-enforced rules and fairness.

Signs outside the entrances to Davis Wade Stadium say "no articificial noisemakers." Those might as well say "no shoes allowed" because the two are being enforced equally.

In checking the history of the noisemaker rule, I found this quote from then-MSU athletic director Larry Templeton in 2003:

"We don't like the rule, but we accept it being a member of this conference. We're going to abide by the rules of this conference."

I wonder what happened to that.

One sponsor even touts the cowbells with a full-page ad in the athletic department's game day program … "More Cowbell." It has become that acceptable to openly violate the rules.

I've always considered it a privilege to cover Southeastern Conference sports, the finest in the country overall, especially when it comes to football. But, this cow bell thing, and the increasing level of its magnitude and interference, flies in the face of how the SEC wants to be perceived.

Rules should not exist if they are flagrantly broken, with the near-official sanction of the school and the conference supporting the violators. One school should not be allowed a glaring home field advantage, while 11 other schools are held to a different standard.

The answer is simple. Don't let them into the stadium. Period.

They check women's purses at the entrance. They check backpacks. They even check binoculars cases for smuggled bourbon. They can check for cowbells. But, of course, no checking would be necessary. They are carried openly and shaken loudly outside and inside the stadium. They're not hard to find. And, they're not hard to stop.

So, of course the Southeastern Conference acknowledges the problem and has vowed to fix it, right?

SEC Commissioner Mike Slive was in the Starkville press box on Saturday night.

I didn't personally hear the commissioner's comments about cowbells at the game, but here is what he was quoted as saying:

"You sit here and think you should do something."

You're right[/i] commissioner, you should[/i] do something.

"It's a playing rule, not a game management rule."

What!!! A rule is a rule. It's either being broken or it's not. A person in Davis Wade Stadium would have to be both deaf and blind not to hear and see that it is a major, divisive, inequitable problem.

Game management? For heaven's sake, manage the game.

And, my favorite of Slive's reported quotes:

"Actually, I've been down there before and it's not as loud as is sounds up here (in the press box)."

Commissioner, what game were you attending? I covered that game on Saturday night, both in the press box early, then on the sideline for most of the game. I was on both sides of the field and in both end zones. It was loud in the press box. It was much, much louder down there. People standing just a few feet from each other on the sideline would give up trying to even talk. No need. Might as well use sign language.

Here's the bottom line:

If you're not going to enforce a rule equitably and fairly for everybody, get rid of it.

Stop being hypocrites and stop looking the other way so that one team can flagrantly thumb its nose at the conference and their opponents … or else allow every other team the liberty to do the same thing. What's good for State should be good for everybody else.

Which gets us back to the "Volunteer Navy."

Every boat on the Tennessee River has a horn. Probably one of those loud air-horns that are used to greet other boaters or signal oncoming traffic.

And, certainly those boats hold as much tradition and significance for Tennessee fans as cowbells do for Mississippi State. (State's mascot is a bulldog. Exactly how does that equate to cowbells?)

Mississippi State plays in Knoxville on October 18.

So, since the SEC would want to apply their rules fairly and wouldn't penalize one school for something when it doesn't penalize all schools … what if all of those crewmen in the Volunteer Navy brought their air-horns into Neyland Stadium?

Of course, they wouldn't blow them during their own alma mater. And, I'm sure that they would show respect to our national anthem and keep them quiet then. But, what if every time Mississippi State got into an offensive huddle, they started blaring those horns. As State came up to the line of scrimmage, they got even louder. And, they saved their highest decibels for the seconds before the ball is supposed to be snapped. And, they never stopped. They did it on every State offensive play. Every one.

I wonder how "game management" would interpret those air-horns?

Anchors aweigh! </div> </div>

saddawg · Sep 16, 2008

Fugg that piece of ****.

We got one damn thing, and they try to fugg us out of that.

It makes us volume wise equal to LSU, Bama, Fla and Tenn, in a smaller stadium.

In other word, an equal home field advantage.

We got ****** football. The SEC doesn't need to kick us in the nuts any more.

Croomp · Sep 16, 2008

biguglyjoe · Sep 16, 2008

*****

dawgstudent · Sep 16, 2008

Before we boycott Lindy's, I think the writer had to pick a side about cowbells and write. There is a rebuttal tomorrow.

KurtRambis4 · Sep 16, 2008

that CONTINUE to write these articles every year out of their mom's basement kill me. there is nothing more to say than the fact that this guy has no clue and is and dubmass.

ArrowDawg · Sep 16, 2008

Because, after all, it's sooo much louder than the fan noise at UF, UT, LSU, etc. Yep, we should be ashamed.

I have to give a little credit to Tuberville. At least he didn't whine about them.

UpTheMiddlex3Punt · Sep 16, 2008

When four military jets flew overhead before kickoff, the cowbells were so loud that on the sideline they drowned out the jet's sonic boom.

I wasn't at the game, but I'm pretty sure low altitude supersonic travel over land ain't done, especially around buildings with windows and large crowds.

saltybulldog · Sep 16, 2008

-----"And, that happened throughout the night. The opposition had a dozen penalties costing almost 100 yards of field position, many called for early movement in the line or other illegal procedure. Can that make a difference? In a game where your offense can only generate 114 total yards, it can certainly help keep the game close. There were twice as many penalties called against State's opponent as State had first downs on offense. Again, that's not a joke."----- According to ESPN's announcers, the Auburn version of the spread is run on a silent count, so crowd noise should not (theoretically) cause the illegal procedure. Its not uncommon for the home team to have less penalties. Granted not as skewed as, say, a basketball game but the away team gets flagged more often. Lastly, eat **** you anti-cowbell ***. Im sure you hate your country and apple pie too.

Married to a Dog · Sep 16, 2008

I like the cowbells in Starkville. Now, it stinks having them rung in your ear walking to, in and leaving the stadium, but then again, it sucks being verbally assaulted in Tiger Stadium. It's all part of SEC football.

But . . . Just for arguments sake, I submit that you only deserve the home field advantage equal to the butts you can put in the seat. To me, that was the distinction between "artificial" and natural noise makers. If you had 110,000 fans ringing cowbells, would it still be fair?

Once again, I am not against cowbells, but stating that it evens the playing field with other teams in the conference as it relates to total noise is not a good analogy. Bring them and ring them for traditions sake, but at the same time, acknowledge that they create an advantage not equal to other schools in the conference as it relates to crowd noise. Ole Miss fans will not want to admit it, but DWS is twice as loud as VHS on a given SEC Saturday night. Whiney fans would say that is not fair, but tradition is greater than fairness in my book. At least as long as your crowds are smaller than some others in the league.

ESPNDawg · Sep 16, 2008

<div style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 10px; WIDTH: 520px"> <h3 style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px">Ring those bells, Mississippi State fans, ring those bells</h3> <h2>Editor's Point, Counterpoint</h2>By Ben Cook, Tuesday September 16, 2008 RE: Mississippi State </div> <div id="story" style="WIDTH: 515px; PADDING-TOP: 15px"> (This is the Counterpoint to Monday's column. If you missed it, read it by clicking here.)

I was shocked to read in yesterday's column by my esteemed colleague Lyn Scarbrough is upset that a few cowbells got into Davis-Wade Stadium at Mississippi State last weekend and we all know the SEC prohibits "artificial noisemakers."

Of course, the SEC also prohibits holding, roughing the passer and offsides, but we still have those things at every college game. The difference is the officials try to catch them and penalize the offending team. The problem with the cowbells is that nobody tries to catch fans bringing them into the stadium and there are no penalties called by the officials if the clanging of the cowbells interferes with play on the field. Whose fault is that?

Is it the students and fans of Mississippi State to whom the cowbell is as essential at a football game as a flask filled to the top is to fans of other teams?

Is it the officials who apparently do not hear the clanging?

Or is it the fault of the person who thought it would be a good idea to write a rule that forbids fans from bringing "artificial noisemakers" into stadiums?

I vote for the latter.

Personally I enjoy hearing the clanging of the cowbells at Mississippi State, but then I'm not a lineman trying to hear my quarterback's signals either. That's what several Auburn fans complained about when the Tigers offensive line was called for several false starts in last Saturday's game. But there's a simple way to avoid a false start-watch the center. When he snaps the ball, you can go. If you go before he snaps the ball, you're going to get flagged. A clanging cowbell does not impair your vision.

The noise vibrations from the clanging cowbells did not cause a single Auburn fumble, but the Tigers put the ball on the ground three times. It is highly likely that the fumbles would have happened if it had been quiet as a church in the stadium, but the cowbells are a convenient excuse.

The thing is, cowbells have been clanging at Davis-Wade Stadium forever and yet teams still manage to beat Mississippi State. In fact, Auburn beat State last weekend but just not as bad as Auburn fans wanted to beat the Bulldogs.

But the bottom line is there is a rule that forbids the bringing of "artificial noisemakers" into the stadium. One could argue that there is nothing artificial about a cowbell because the sounds of cowbells are as common on the farms around Starkville (or Auburn for that matter) as the aroma of meat cooking in the parking lot at Jordan-Hare Stadium before a game. But that is just semantics.

A rule is a rule.

Just as the referee said he had no choice but to penalize Jake Locker for celebrating what should have been the tying touchdown against BYU two weeks ago in Washington. All the kid did was toss the ball into the air in excitement. He didn't try to show anybody up. He wasn't in a BYU player's face. He was just excited and in the world of college football today that is considered unsportsmanlike behavior.

A rule is a rule.

Well, here's the real bottom line: some of these rules stink. Don't take the fun of college football out of the game for the players. The rule about excessive celebration stinks. It cost Vanderbilt a chance to beat Florida a couple of years ago and it cost Washington - a team that needs a win about as bad as any team in the country - a chance to at least take BYU into overtime.

The rule against artificial noisemakers stinks. Don't take the fun out of college football for the fans. Making noise and whooping it up for your team is a part of the game, like pretty cheerleaders and insulting cheers directed at the other team, or as a friend of mine called the opponent, "the pagan invaders."

Sure the cowbells are loud. If they are too loud then the officials, who are right there on the field hearing the same thing the players are hearing, should call a penalty. It's not a hard thing to determine. If a quarterback is checking off and the officials can't hear him, then it is too loud and a flag is a possibility. But to not allow the Mississippi State fans to ring their cowbells when the Bulldogs do something good, well, that's just not right.

If other teams have a problem with it, then let their fans come up with countermeasures. Alabama fans can bring artificial elephant noisemakers to games. LSU fans can bring noisemakers that sound like roaring Tigers. Georgia fans can have something that sounds like barking dogs. Auburn fans can have noisemakers that roar, or that sound like the flapping of eagle wings, although that one would probably drive Spirit, the Auburn eagle, crazy trying to find out where all those birds are.

For many years the clanging of cowbells was the only thing Mississippi State had to give it a home field advantage since its football teams were usually in the lower echelon of SEC teams. Now that Sylvester Croom has Mississippi State football on the upswing and the Bulldogs are a team to reckon with, the cowbells are just part of the problem for opposing teams. Mississippi State's tough defense is a much bigger problem for teams than the cowbells.

We are running the risk of turning a football game into a golf match where little men in vests and hats hold up signs that say "Quiet Please" whenever a team approaches the line of scrimmage. Nobody wants that.

So if the rule is on the books, which it is, it should be enforced. So here's the simple solution: wipe the rule off the books. It was a bad idea, like the Edsel and New Coke.

Let's keep the fun in college football. </div>

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Todd4State · Sep 16, 2008

I think my friend nailed it on the head when he said they do so much to keep MSU from bringing in cowbells to games, but yet they allow LSU fans to throw urine on people. Double standard indeed.

MrHooch · Sep 16, 2008

UpTheMiddlex3Punt said:
When four military jets flew overhead before kickoff, the cowbells were so loud that on the sideline they drowned out the jet's sonic boom.

 I wasn't at the game, but I'm pretty sure low altitude supersonic travel over land ain't done, especially around buildings with windows and large crowds.

I thought I was going to be the only one to point out the stupidity of this statement.

HammerOfTheDogs · Sep 16, 2008

It's one of the few (if only) Mississippi traditions that hasn't been eliminated by the 14th Amendment, the 1965 Civil Rights Act, and/or Political Correctness (see the USM "Southerners", the Delta State "Statesmen", and of course the Rebel flag), and STILL the punks want to ban our cowbell.

You tell a black man to wave a Confederate flag or don a Colonel Sanders suit, he's liable to kick your ***. You ask him to ring a cowbell, he can do it in good conscience without selling out his race.

Of course, ringing a cowbell is "against the rules".... so was harboring fugitive slaves before the Civil War, so was harboring Jews in Nazi Europe in WW II, so was smuggling bibles behind the Iron Curtain during the Cold War, and I bet the Commie bastards who beat the **** out of John McCain for five years probably banned the POW's from ringing cowbells as well. If you want to be a slaveholding Nazi Communist prison guard sonuvabitch, be my guest....just don't try to take away my cowbell.

dawgatUSM · Sep 16, 2008

i hate this crap year in and year out... it is our one solid tradition that has been around forever... let's write articles how hotty toddy, rocky top, and pig sooey should be banned... that annoying pig sound always gets on my dang nerves...

KurtRambis4 · Sep 16, 2008

"artificial" about a bell making a bell noise....so when fans cheer, is that not artificial?

falzaergo · Sep 16, 2008

she neglected to mention "when the MSU offense breaks the huddle and is trying to remember what play they just called".

Sure it is distracting, but our fans are equal-opportunity distractors.

Jackdragbean · Sep 16, 2008

It's just plain un-American if you're against cowbells. I could see that rant as a good rebuttal to that article. You should post it there too. Brilliant!

Shmuley · Sep 16, 2008

WillemWallace · Sep 16, 2008

ArrowDawg said:
Because, after all, it's sooo much louder than the fan noise at UF, UT, LSU, etc. Yep, we should be ashamed.

I have to give a little credit to Tuberville. At least he didn't whine about them.

Lets think about this from another perspective...

Would you be fine with LSU, UT, UF, etc being able to bring in "artificial noisemakers" such as air horns or anything else that can create much more noise than a person's voice can (and also adds to the noise that a person's voice makes) to their stadiums also, in addition to their larger crowds?

Would you be fine with them pumping in artificial noise from the sidelines, in addition to their larger crowds?

Methinks you would ***** about it.

DovaDawg · Sep 16, 2008

But, what if every time Mississippi State got into an offensive huddle, they started blaring those horns. As State came up to the line of scrimmage, they got even louder. And, they saved their highest decibels for the seconds before the ball is supposed to be snapped. And, they never stopped. They did it on every State offensive play. Every one. <div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 10px; width: 520px;"></div>

I say let them do it. Kind of hard to <rule 17> up something that already broke.

KurtRambis4 · Sep 16, 2008

care, honestly. if you're team's getting beat by some guy with a cowbell, then you are either a) coached by crooms or b) a bad team or c) both

WillemWallace · Sep 16, 2008

KurtRambis4 said:
care, honestly. if you're team's getting beat by some guy with a cowbell, then you are either a) coached by crooms or b) a bad team or c) both

You have a bad case of stupid.

Nobody has said that a team would get beaten by the cowbells.

But to sit there and act like it isn't a factor (that, according to the rules, shouldn't be a factor) is simply idiotic.

UT, UF, and LSU have the advantage because they built that large of a stadium and they fill it with fans.

Schools with smaller stadiums do not have that kind of advantage because they did not build that size stadium and they did not fill it with that many people. It is not an artificial advantage. The fans showed up and made noise.

MState, on the other hand, makes the noise of twice the number of fans that actually show up because of an artificial advantage...a banned (according to the rules) noisemaker.

To act as though it is simply "fair game" is moronic.

Hair of the Dawg · Sep 16, 2008

why not do this SEC?

Take the number of seats in every stadium in the confernce, figure out what the highest decible level would be using male fan ( surely the highest attendents ) and allow each team a precentage of that decible level based on seating. Maybe that would even the playing field and take away the advantage from the power house known as MSU.

*#%* OFF

bulldogbaja · Sep 16, 2008

That drives me crazy. Although apparently there's a new tradition- hold your cowbell over your head by the bell while the offense is on the field. Or maybe its not new and I just noticed.

state2006 · Sep 16, 2008

the PA system, the band's instruments, and the refs whistle are all forms of artificial noise. my cell's ringtone is a form of artificial noise too. ban that **** and i will stop bringing by bell in. i thought there was also rules on excessive crowd noise, artificial or not. dws has never came close to reaching the highest sound levels of places like knoxville, gainesville, baton rogue or auburn. all we are doing is ringing them not throwing them over the second level like lsu fans do with whatever they happen to have possession of. they could penalize us all they want to, i don't care. i'm bringing my cowbell to the game. and if penalties do come down i expect our AD to call the commish out on the hypocrisy and ********.

MaroonInNashville · Sep 16, 2008

I recall Jackie having some sound system cords cut at Neyland due to the UTK's amping of the crowd noise through the stadium PA. There is no way that does not constitute "artificial noise". I seem to recall another SEC opponent in the last few years using those God-awful thundersticks (Bama? Auburn? hell I can't remember). As far as I am concerned the SEC can sit on a cowbell and rotate.

KennyB · Sep 17, 2008

decible meters on each sideline at every SEC stadium. The head official gets a wireless led light that lights up when the sound goes over a certain decible reading, which results in a penality. Do away with all rules for artificial noicemakers, whatever that means anyways.

Optimus Prime 4 · Sep 17, 2008

nor is the PA announcer allowed to talk. Cell phones? That's just stupid.

Todd4State · Sep 17, 2008

if you're worried about what the fans have in the stands, you have MUCH bigger problems. And yes, isn't the whole issue here that the noise from cowbells affects teams from getting their plays in and checks and things like that, therefore possibly affecting the outcome of the game?

Let me say this- UCF had a bunch of thundersticks(xx) at the Liberty Bowl last year, and I had no problem with it. If UT had 100,000 people with thundersticks, I would not have a problem with it either.

WillemWallace · Sep 17, 2008

to hear, then it is a problem.

KennyB · Sep 17, 2008

if any stadium gets over a certain decible level. Why is it fair that a team can't hear in Tiger Stadium, but not Scott Field?

Lindy's whining about cowbells.

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