Did you catch the big game on Sunday? We’re talking about the fluffiest, ruffiest game of the year, Puppy Bowl XXI of course!
The Puppy Bowl, broadcast on Animal Planet, is the cutest show before the kickoff of Super Bowl 59, and this year’s match up between Team Fluff and Team Ruff lived up to the undeniable hype for puppy (and kitten) lovers everywhere.
But there’s more to this game than just watching an adorable fur fest. The main purpose of the bowl is to show off almost 150 adoptable pups from across the nation, highlight worthy shelters and rescues, raise awareness about the benefits and encourage adoption of rescue dogs everywhere.
This year’s Puppy Bowl XXI was filled with playful energy, featuring 142 puppy athletes of all shapes and sizes, including 11 dogs with special needs. These adorable pups came from 80 shelters and rescues across 40 states and two countries. Representing Team Ruff and Team Fluff, they joyfully raced toward the end zone, all in search of their forever homes, with the Lombarky Trophy toy being an exciting bonus.
Many of the puppies had fitting names for the big game, such as Saquon Barkley, the Australian Shepherd-Bernese Mountain Dog, and a pair of Pomeranian siblings named Jason and Travis, after the Kelce brothers. Dee-Bone Samuel, a poodle mix, has already added a trophy toy to their collection after being named this year’s Popularity Playoffs champion. Sportscasters Steve Levy and Taylor Rooks provided the play-by-play.
The Puppy Bowl features rescue kittens during the Kitty Halftime Show (for obvious reasons, the cats take the field when the dogs are off getting their locker room pup talk). Additionally, the Bowl featured James Gunn, writer/director of the upcoming Superman reboot talks about his experience adopting his own rescue pup Ozu while he was writing the script, and how Ozu influenced the Man of Steel’s super dog, Krypto. (The new trailer can be seen at about 44 minutes into the Bowl.)
More star power on display at this year’s Puppy Bowl were country stars Dan + Shay. Dan Smyers and his wife Abby are so dedicated to their own rescue dogs that they also foster, and Abby volunteers with Wags & Walks in Nashville. Dan even brought a rescue pup from Wags & Walks to one of the duo’s concerts backstage to help socialize and increase its chances of getting adopted. Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi and his girlfriend Nani were featured as well as they visited the Humane Society of Greater Kansas City and talked about all the important work they do.
Of course, the big question remains: which team took home the trophy? Was it Team Fluff, featuring the adorable Labrador retriever mix, Abigail, and Smoosh the Pekingese? Or was it Team Ruff, led by Mr. Pickles the pug mix and Demure the Cairn Terrier, who claimed back-to-back Puppy Bowls?
We won’t keep you in suspense a moment longer… during the 21st annual “Puppy Bowl,” Team Fluff clawed its way to victory to defeat Team Ruff in a nail-biter of a game. With a final score of 68-66, the adorable piece of Super Bowl counterprogramming came down to the very last play.
- Underdog Award: Mercury
- Most Valuable Puppy Award: Foxtrot
- Most Popular: Dee-Bone Samuel
Kicking yourself about missing the big game? Not to worry, you can still catch a replay of all the action streaming on discovery+ and Max. And of course, the most important thing of all, if you’re interested in finding out more and adopting these precious pups or kittens, you can find them all here.
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Photo Credit: WilleeCole Photography / Shutterstock.com