It’s no secret this Sunday is the Big Game. But what Big Game is it that you’ll be watching?
Sure, there’s Super Bowl XLVI going on where Patriots fans and Giants fans will be glued to their TVs, equipped with major snackage and intense bravado, but there is also another game on TV that may not win out on the competitive scale, but sure beats any football game on the cuteness scale.
That’s right! Animal Planet is bringing us Puppy Bowl VIII, where, for the eighth consecutive year, viewers will be treated to an abundance of absolutely adorable puppies playing their own version of football in a solid two-hour broadcast.
Filmed inside a mini stadium, this year’s Puppy Bowl will feature 58 puppies who are all right around 10 weeks-old (at the time of taping in October) and from shelter and rescue groups, looking to be adopted. We have already been introduced to the starting line-up of 20 pups, but since they are rotated in and out of the stadium in 20-minute shifts to prevent them from tiring out, you can bet we will be seeing more puppies than we’ll know how to process.
Each year, the team behind the Puppy Bowl looks for ways to get bigger and better and that certainly holds true this year. On the sidelines, a bird named Meep will tweet about the game (using Twitter, of course), Jill Rappaport, TV reporter and animal advocate, will provide commentary and rather than bunnies or chickens, a “Piggy Pep Squad” will be on hand to cheer on the pups.
But, of course, there will be many staple features of the Puppy Bowl returning!
The Water Bowl Cam will be back to capture some of the most adorable shots of the program, the Kiss Cam also returns as a parody of the segment we find in all sports stadiums, and the blimp, crewed by hamsters, is there to provide aerial views.
To make the Puppy Bowl feel even more like a real football game, we have the tailgate party, where we will find many other dogs watching the event on TVs outside the stadium and reacting just like that overexcited fan who keeps jumping off the couch during the Super Bowl.
There also has to be a ref. This year Dan Schachner will be calling the shots. These pups may be cute but that doesn’t mean they’re above penalties or timeouts. If you’ve tuned in before, you know there can be a bit of unnecessary ruff-ness on the field and a lot of excessive cuteness. Then there’s that whole issue of puppies relieving themselves on the field. Penalty!
And like any good football game there has to be a halftime – and a halftime show! And next to the Kitty Half-Time show at the Puppy Bowl, we don’t think Madonna holds a candle! Yes, the kittens are back this year as the scratching post is brought onto the field and twenty kittens play with lights, laser pens and balls of yarn – you know, everything cats love to chase around and play with.
Millions may tune into the Super Bowl every year, but the Puppy Bowl has been growing in popularity since its inception. Last year, an astounding 9.2 million viewers tuned in to watch the puppies take the field rather than the two teams of grown men.
This year promises to be just as exciting a Puppy Bowl as some of the cutest pups all compete for the coveted title of MVP… yup, Most Valuable Puppy.
So, let us ask you again, what Big Game will you be tuning in for this Sunday?
Puppy Bowl VIII airs Sunday, February 5 at 3 PM on Animal Planet.
Posted in Animal Planet, TV News
By Allison
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