FOOTBALL OR ANIMAL BOWL?
By: Hope Wilkos, Writer/Blogger
Super Bowl Sunday XLVIII brought out some fierce competition. The Seattle Seahawks and the Denver Broncos battled on the field for the title of champions for this football season, but while the annual tradition that brings friends and families together was taking place, some of the nation was fixated on a different sort of ‘Bowl’.
The ‘Puppy Bowl’ is celebrating its tenth year and is quickly becoming a heartwarming tradition featuring some of the most adorable pups that seem to tug at your heart and warm your soul.
This is a competition more for the fun than the game itself and brought to us each year by Animal Planet with some of the best moments captured on film and visited days later on YouTube. In 2013, 12.4 million viewers were entertained by these furry champions. All of the puppies seem to continually have a ‘barking’ good time. The scene is set with a mini-stadium that accommodates the players and their favorite squeaky toy. When the game is all over, a delicious treat can accompany the trophy.
If you aren’t too familiar with football, the game can be a bit difficult to follow but what was the most important mission for this 2-hour event was to simply have fun. Very young pups from 12-18 months old were in the starting lineup, building up our enthusiasm very early in the game. Up to 15 puppies can be out playing on the field at one time. The players came from 37 various adoption agencies and shelters. There were puppies of all kinds and after watching them play for 2 hours, it made you want to go out and get your own puppy. A dalmatian, a tiny papillon, American Eskimo with beautiful fluffy white fur, a bassett hound, a Great Pyrenees, a chihuahua dachshund mix and very good representation for some of the other brands as well. Even the First Family’s dogs, Sonny and Bo, wanted to get in on the action.
When you just didn’t think it could get much cuter than this, here comes the half-time entertainment with the most playful kittens that definitely appeal to your softer side. One kitten skydived into the stadium while others performed a sort of “domino topple” which would be a great playback in slow motion. Others kept their eyes peeled on the puppies.
This year also brought with it the introduction of two additional and new Bowls, the “Kitten Bowl” and yes, hard to believe, but even the “Fish Bowl.” Rescue kittens set the stage for their big game televised on the Hallmark Channel. It drew a cat-loving crowd including guest appearances by Rachel Ray, Regis Philbin and Hoda Kotb. The kittens looked like they were having a ‘purrrrfectly’ grand time.
The ‘Fish Bowl’ certainly didn’t have as much action as the other two ‘Bowls’, but the concept was unique.
If you asked me which game I would rather watch, men or animals, I would have to go with the lovable pups and kittens vs. the rough and tough game of football. I can’t wait to see the puppy and kitty lineup next year. It just doesn’t get any cuter than this.
PHOTO CREDITS: Keith Barraclough/Animal Planet, www.popwatch.ew.com and Mark Von Holden/Associated Press Images for Discovery Communications
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