More cowbell! I gotta have more cowbell!
Screen shot of VANOC's online catalogue of 2010 cowbells...and some timely advice for Team Canada supporters from (who else?) Christopher Walken!
There are a million different ways to cheer on athletes at play, but louder is usually better in a fan’s mind. In Japanese baseball stadiums, the stands roar with the clatter of thunder-sticks. Climbing the most horrific mountain passes of the Tour de France, cyclists are ushered by fans sprinting alongside, usually screaming encouragement (and sometimes not).
In these Winter Games, a surprising number of events have been matched by a weirdly pastoral percussion: frantically clanging cowbells. It’s like the soundtrack to a horror film about mad-cow disease.
So what’s with the cowbells? It’s long been a popular noisemaker in cross-country skiing and college sports. But Vancouver 2010 may be the cross-over event for Christopher Walken’s sonic weapon of choice : cowbells have been whanged, clanged and rattled at the luge track and just about every alpine sport so far.
In the mood to purchase a cowbell? Vancouver 2010’s Olympic Store sells authentic 2010 versions – and customer reviews suggest sports fans evaluate the instruments’ heft, quality and clarity of tone with the seriousness of a guild of Swiss dairy farmers.
If you aren’t in the mood to lug a handful of bovine metal to the events, keep in mind that Cowbell2010 , available on iTunes for 99 cents, turns an iPhone or an iPod Touch into a virtual cowbell. When you shake the phone or tap the screen, you get cowbell. Loudly.
What are you bringing to the Winter Games to cheer on the athletes?Which venue makes the most cowbell noise? Send us an email and let us know.
Imagine what Molson's Hockey House (left) would sound like if you gave these Canadian fans honkin' big cowbells?
