Puppy Bowl XV will capture the nation’s attention at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, February 3.
While millions across the nation (and the world) will watch Super Bowl LIII (53) on Sunday, February 3, a large number of those viewers will be watching Puppy Bowl XV (15) earlier that afternoon on Animal Planet.
Essentially, it’s puppies playing in a carpeted room for two days, but with the magic of scriptwriting, clever editing, and a huge team of crew and volunteers, it turns into one of the biggest spectacles of the year for the network, and plays out as a semi-serious satire of the actual football game that night to raise awareness for shelter adoptions.
(For more on the history of the event, see our history of the special right here).
As always, Team Fluff (yellow bandannas) will take on Team Ruff (green bandannas) in GEICO Stadium, and the teams will be playing for possession of the Chewy.com Lombarky Trophy. Team Fluff pulled out the victory at the last second in Puppy Bowl XIV, winning by a 52-47 score.
Over 50 animal shelters and rescue organizations from 20 states and Costa Rica were involved in the selection process of the puppies making the rosters, all of whom had been adopted shortly after filming completed in October.
Dan Schachner will serve as rufferee for the eighth year in a row, joined as one of the only humans on the broadcast by sideline reporter Jill Rappaport, who will be doing the “Pup Close and Personal” profile segments.
Shirley the sloth will serve as Dan’s assistant rufferee again this year, while Rappaport’s “Pup Close and Personal” segments will feature Olympic skiier Gus Kenworthy pumping up a Pit Bull puppy named Sierra from Muddy Paws Rescue before the big game. Another will feature Dan as he goes to Puerto Rico’s Dead Dog Beach and helps The Sato Project rescue and rehabilitate puppies before bringing them to the US (this process was how 13 Reasons Why actress Amy Hargreaves got her dog Fred).
There will also be a visit to Territorio De Zaguates, a rescue facility in Costa Rica featured in an episode of the Netflix documentary series Dogs. A Chihuahua mix named Melody will visit Graceland with the Memphis Humane Society, and Flo the Chihuahua mix visits San Diego’s Del Mar Dog Beach thanks to the Helen Woodward Animal Center.
The football fun starts with the Puppy Bowl Pre-Game Show at 2 p.m. ET with aww-nalysis from a team of dedicated doggos, while the first half of the game will be sponsored by the upcoming STXentertainment film UglyDolls, with the second half sponsored by Illumination Entertainment’s The Secret Life of Pets 2 (see links for the Max and Daisy trailers).
There will be a big halftime concert spectacular, of course; this year the featured purrformer of the Arm and Hammer Clump and Seal Litter Kitty Halftime Show is Adam Feline of Purr-oon 5, with a performance by the Atlanta Acro-Cats (the actual Super Bowl is in Atlanta this year) and a showstopping domino display finale.
Fans can catch a preview of the pre-game show on the Animal Planet GO app on January 27, in addition to various features like a tailgate special and a behind-the-scenes look at what the halftime show entails.
As always, Puppy Bowl XV wouldn’t be complete without the water bowl cam, or the kiss cam.
Team Ruff will have three baby porcupines for mascots, while Team Fluff has a capybara (think a gigantic guinea pig) cheering them on. Baby kangaroos will serve as cheerleaders this year, which promises to be very bouncy, high-energy and cute.
Some of the players the cheerleaders will be pulling for include those with special needs: a blind Jack Russell mix named Pippi, Bumble the blind and hearing-impaired Australian Shepherd mix, and the three-legged Doodle mix Will.
Fans can catch more of the Puppy Bowl XV experience with the videos posted on the game’s official Facebook page, and get highlights on the newly dog-friendly Snapchat. They can also vote on the Animal Planet Twitter during the game for the winner of the MVP (Most Valuable Puppy) Award.
Fans can even get their pups into the game – sort of – through the Pedigree Puppy Bowl Trading Cards, found at PuppyBowlTradingCards.com, where owners can personalize their dog’s card with a photo and personalized stats including hometown, breed, pawesome talent or favorite TV show.
While the current players’ grandparents might have played in one of the original Puppy Bowls, an old-timers game is always fun, too. That’s why Dog Bowl II will be aired on Animal Planet on Saturday, February 2 at 8 p.m. ET. Team Goldies will play Team Oldies in a game hosted by Rappaport to showcase the adult and senior dogs living at shelters across the nation.
As a reminder, the big game will air on Sunday, February 3 at 3 p.m. ET.
More in-depth information on Dog Bowl II, and the starting lineups for Puppy Bowl XV, will be released shortly in the future; be sure to catch all the Dog O’Day coverage on our Facebook and Twitter pages.