Are You Ready for the Puppy Bowl?

Super Bowl LI is just a few days away but the even more exciting Puppy Bowl 2017 is coming up too. If you haven’t already seen it before, the Puppy Bowl is an up-close and intense sporting event involving a whole bunch of puppies and other cute animals. This is a must-see championship for all dog lovers. As can be seen below these puppies are serious sports players.

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The Teams

At this point, the puppy players have been chosen and divided up into two teams. Team Fluff is set to take on Team Ruff for the Puppy Bowl championship this coming Sunday. There is a total of 39 puppies in the starting lineup, including some special needs puppies and puppies from local shelters. Viewers of the Puppy Bowl have the opportunity to get involved in the upcoming championship. Presently, there is a website where viewers can create their own Puppy Bowl Fantasy lineup. To create your own lineup go to www.puppybowlfantasy.com/ to set up your Puppy Bowl team before the big game.

Specialty Players

There are quite a  few specialty puppy players being added to the roster for the Puppy Bowl Championship this year. Three special needs puppies will be playing in the Puppy Bowl this Sunday. One puppy named Doobert, who is completely deaf, is playing for Team Ruff. Winston, who has impaired hearing and vision, is playing with Lucky the three-legged dog on Team Fluff.

Lucky the dog

Lucky the Dog / Animal Planet

The other specialty players include two rescue puppies on Team Fluff. One puppy is Max, a 13-week old Pit Bull mix from Morris Animal Refuge. The other puppy is Wilma, a Shih Tzu mix, from New Life Animal Rescue. Ultimately, these two rescue pups will find their forever homes once the Puppy Bowl Championship ends.

Half-Time

While the Puppy Bowl Championship is all about dogs the half-time show features a whole bunch of other furry animals. Audiences shall witness a meowtastic half-time show performance by a purrfect group of felines. 

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In addition to the half-time show, the Puppy Bowl will have a cheerleading team comprised of rabbits and guinea pigs. Also, look out for a special appearance by Pennsylvania’s famous groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, as he starts off the show with a coin toss.

Tune in this Sunday to see these precious puppies play their hardest in the championship. Puppy Bowl 2017 will be airing on Animal Planet on February 5th at 3pm ET and Noon PT.