Moen Grude recently packed off a shipment of bells with Norwegian fans heading to the European Handball Championships. Cycling and triathlon are increasingly the domain of the cowbell. Tennis racket manufacturers gave away branded versions at the U.S. Open.

Halvorson denies any suggestion this last example is a sign that even the cowbell can go corporate.

"What's happening is they're becoming collectible. A guy once called me, saying: 'My wife and I just got divorced. The wife got the cowbells. Do you happen to have this one? This one? How about this one?'

"They didn't make a cowbell for Nagano but they did one for the Nagano Paralympics, then for Lillehammer, Salt Lake, Torino and Vancouver. The Vancouver one is very hard to find.

"But what we sell is fun. That's what we sell. A cowbell is simply an interaction between athlete and spectator."