If one is to tune into a Mississippi State home football game on a fall Saturday, those unfamiliar with the program will almost certainly hear a distinct "ringing" in the background of the game, which grows louder and more frenzied the longer and closer the game is. That, my friends, is the sound of the Bulldogs' notorious tradition, the cowbell.
Equal parts an iconic item (to MSU fans) or an annoyance and potential unfair advantage (to probably literally every team that has to deal with them). The cowbell has long been an integral part of the MSU culture.
Nearly every bulldog fan has one, and on gamedays you can see students with their cowbells adorned with different stickers representing fraternities, sororities, or any of the many organizations on campus.
What types of cowbells are there for Misssippi State?
Different varieties are available, ranging from plain maroon or white to "Battle Bells" which can be absolutely massive, looking like Thor's hammer, or even cowbells that have beer taps as their handle. The old superstition around Starkville is that if you have to be gifted your first cowbell, to buy your own is bad luck.
Cowbell Superstitions are real
On the topic of the superstition and exaggeration, the (likely apocryphal) origin of the cowbell tradition is something to behold. Legend claims that during a game with arch-rival Ole Miss, a cow wandered onto the playing field while the gaming was going on.
After the cow was cleared from the playing field, the Bulldogs proceeded to blow out Ole Miss, and the cow (yes, the whole cow) was adopted as a good luck charm. Eventually, the logistics of bringing a cow to a football game caught up to people, and they settled on bringing the bell from the cow to games.
In 1974, Auburn filed an official complaint against the cowbells, leading to the SEC to ban artificial noise makers. These being college football fans, this only furthered the usage of them at MSU games, with even Alabama attempting to buy some to antagonize Auburn during an Iron bowl.
This even escalated to an incident where a MSU faculty member tried to declare the rule unconstitutional following his cowbell being confiscated during an Auburn-MSU game.
Finally, after years of sneaking cowbells into the stadium, a one year compromise on artificial noisemakers was agreed upon by the 12 SEC schools. Following this, MSU implemented a, "hold the bell just yell" policy once teams get into offensive formation. Do they follow this rule? Well, that is probably depending on if you ask an opposing fan or a Bulldog.