The Puppy Bowl has been a classic special on the Super Bowl that debuted 21 years ago on Animal Planet. Since then, the Puppy Bowl has gained mass attraction all across the world as an adorable alternative to the Super Bowl. Animal Planet promotes adoption and animal advocacy, featuring adoptable puppies from shelters and local rescue organizations competing on a pup-safe football field filled with fun toys and props.
The event even has its own halftime show, starring kittens, a “rufferee,” slow-motion replays, commentary, and puppy stats. This makes the Puppy Bowl very entertaining and family-friendly, opening people´s hearts to adopting the pups on screen or in nearby shelters.
Gaining more and more popularity every year, the Puppy Bowl has become an important and well-known contribution to the Super Bowl. Not only does the event raise awareness for adoptable puppies, but it also highlights dogs who have special needs, senior dogs, and animals with inspiring backgrounds.
By blending a mix of sports entertainment and wholesome moments, the Puppy Bowl has definitely gained its own audience and has greatly contributed to increasing adoption rates in shelters.
“[It´s] both a television success and a meaning advocacy platform,” says Tzvi Machlin, a senior writer with expertise in the NFL.
This year´s Puppy Bowl had approximately 15.3 million viewers, which is a chart-breaking amount. According to Joseph Boyle, Discovery Channel´s head of content, the event marked a 20 percent increase over last year after airing.
The two teams that played against each other were team “Ruff” and team “Fluff,” and each player on the field had a colored bandanna representing their team jersey, and adorable names. Some of these names included Benito, Chappell Bone, and Lobster Roll. Each team even had its own coaches, with Martha Stewart coaching team Ruff and Snoop Dogg coaching team Fluff.
Coaches gave play updates, led training sessions, and paw-sitive motivation and encouragement to all the pups on the field. They competed for the “Lombarky Trophy,” and after running and playing, Snoop Dogg´s team Fluff came out on top with the score being 73-69.
“The Puppy Bowl´s gotta be the cutest thing ever… honestly, it´s like the only thing I tune in for during the Super Bowl haha. I´m really glad that older dogs and pups with disabilities get some recognition,” said Laura Xi, a pet hospital intern here in Corona.
