Physics of Football: Cowbell Noise vs Crowd Noise

[Lloyd Christmas]

I have no idea if they are still going to do physics of football but this would be a good one. They need to prop up the cowbell as an awesome tradition but then need to show scientific evidence that yelling toward the field actually produces higher decibels than ringing. I think this could be a good way to nudge people in the right direction in addition to the "save the bell" graphic we always show.

[Steakonastick]

Doubt they would wanna show 10k cowbells ringing is louder then 10k people yelling. Reason why at a concert you can hear a drummer hitting a cowbell over the drunk in the back yelling. Yelling produces about 80 decibils while a cowbell 114.

[Lloyd Christmas]

I think that on the field they could prove it's louder to yell becuase the cowbell noise goes upward whereas yelling is projected downwards. Or hell just lie about it. We need to get our fans to yell.

[thf24]

I think that on the field they could prove it's louder to yell becuase the cowbell noise goes upward whereas yelling is projected downwards.

This is the key factor here. Of course a cowbell is going to be louder than yelling from the fan's perspective up in the stands where you have one (or more) in your hand and one on either side of your head; but what about on the field? I obviously haven't done and don't have access to any actual experimentation, but it stands to reason that the projected sound of a voice is going to carry to the field better than a cowbell. Those who have been on the field during some of DWS's loudest moments (for me, Florida 2009) will probably agree that you hear yelling a lot more clearly than the cowbells.

[PassInterference]

On the field, yelling is a lot louder. This is not even debateable. The sound of yelling can be directed with cupped hands around the mouth.

A cowbell is "louder", but the sound radiates off in all directions. The cowbell sound that makes it to the field is a small fraction of noise made by a cowbell. The rest goes off into other directions.

Maybe somebody should invent a cowbell with a bull horn around it. LOL

[Maroonthirteen]

I took some video of the post EggBowl celebration. Daggum! The bells are a sweet but loud sound. I would link it but I haven't uploaded it.

[Lloyd Christmas]

On the field, yelling is a lot louder. This is not even debateable. The sound of yelling can be directed with cupped hands around the mouth.

A cowbell is "louder", but the sound radiates off in all directions. The cowbell sound that makes it to the field is a small fraction of noise made by a cowbell. The rest goes off into other directions.

Maybe somebody should invent a cowbell with a bull horn around it. LOL

It's sad that I take this seriously, but it is KEY to getting back to a tough atmosphere for opponents to play in.

[drummerdawg]

I think a big factor for the cowbells isn't necessarily how loud they are but how different the sound is. Other teams go around playing in stadiums where of course the fans yell, and while decibels might change a little from one stadium to the next, its still a similar sound. Then they play at state and its a totally different sound and vibe. It can't help but get in your head because its so different, you naturally think about it. Also voices wear down throughout a game, bells ring as loud as they can the whole time. So by the 4th quarter a bell will probably the loudest anyway

[mstatefan91]

The cowbells get in players' heads. Opposing teams have passed out ear plugs because of them. With that said though, there should be ringing and yelling. I always try to do both

[spiritual_machine2005]

My twin bro was the instructor in those videos. They stopped doing them last year. He is no longer at MSU.

[mstatefan91]

My twin bro was the instructor in those videos. They stopped doing them last year. He is no longer at MSU.

Wondered why I didn't see him around campus anymore. The videos were good for the most part. Better than a Mercedes advertisement anyway. lol

[spiritual_machine2005]

Yea i liked them too, mostly so i could pick at my brother about them. I think there were a lot of complaints from people that said it took away from the gameday atmosphere. But like you said, better that some commercial.

[FISHDAWG]

OK ... I'll try - I used to work for an industrial noise control company so I know at least a little about what I'm saying ... cowbell = higher frequency along the octave band scale and is very difficult to treat or contain. To address higher frequency you need blockage (barrier) .... yelling = low frequency and while it can be very loud it much easier to treat because low frequency is subdued by mass (ie. - bodies in a stadium ) that's why curtains are hung on the walls of theaters & to cut down on sound revereration ... directional isn't really that big of a deal because once the sound leaves the aiming device (whether its a cowbell or a mouth) it immediately travels in all direction 360 degrees .... biggest thing we have going is bowling in the north endzone because now reverberation is introduced (sound that bounces back and forth) ... so while yelling could potentially be argued as louder, it is easier treated by the "dampening" effect produced by the number of bodies in the stadium which are required to produce the sound in the first place ...... the cowbell is slightly higher in decibels and more difficult to treat .... my vote = cowbell is ultimately louder .... see accomponing frequency chart - note vocals as opposed to the cymbals

http://www.offbeat.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/eq-chart.pdf

[Statefan]

Other teams HATE the cowbells. Teams, fans, coaches. They spend the week practicing with cowbell noises blaring at their practices. A significant portion of our fan base is going to yell anyways, plus when players have played @bama, lsu, a&m, auburn, and the bigger east stadiums several times in the careers, the noise of 60,000 at DWS isn't going to make much of a dent in their play calling or execution. Not the mention the cowbell is one our greatest traditions and energizes the team. I remember comments from Bama and LSU last year talking about how they thought their ear drums were going to burst and the need to wear ear plugs when they play us. It is a unique, incredible, and LOUD tradition and we shouldn't take it away from ourselves.

Also, I'm hopeful that bowling in the stadium will keep even more sound in and make it even louder

[Lloyd Christmas]

Other teams HATE the cowbells. Teams, fans, coaches. They spend the week practicing with cowbell noises blaring at their practices. A significant portion of our fan base is going to yell anyways, plus when players have played @bama, lsu, a&m, auburn, and the bigger east stadiums several times in the careers, the noise of 60,000 at DWS isn't going to make much of a dent in their play calling or execution. Not the mention the cowbell is one our greatest traditions and energizes the team. I remember comments from Bama and LSU last year talking about how they thought their ear drums were going to burst and the need to wear ear plugs when they play us. It is a unique, incredible, and LOUD tradition and we shouldn't take it away from ourselves.

Also, I'm hopeful that bowling in the stadium will keep even more sound in and make it even louder

I guess I have to drive this point home again. If we keep on ringing them during plays they will eventually be banned. Plus, you are ignoring the fact that the people who follow the rules just stay silent (for the most part) while the "rule breakers" ring. The overriding thought of these people is "well those people are making noise and I don't want to break the rules so I guess I don't have to do jack shit". So really the cowbell ringing DURING PLAY hurts us way more than it helps us.

[Political Hack]

great idea.

[Dawgbite]

So what you are saying is that when we hold the bell over our head with the open end pointed to the sky, we are not being as efficient as we should. From now on hold the bell over your head with the open end pointed toward the field and all should be well. Except when the fat kid is bent over touching the ball off course!

[Steakonastick]

Ill guarantee if we beat auburn this year it will be because of cowbells in their minds.