Even if you don’t love football, there’s one ball game which even sports-haters may be unable to look away from. The Puppy Bowl has been held yearly over the past two decades, typically on the morning of the Super Bowl. In the winter of 2005, the first Puppy Bowl was introduced as an adoption event to help find forever homes for many dogs in shelters.
According to Remind Magazine, the first Puppy Bowl included 22 dogs who ran around a mock field playing a game of “football.” It had around 6 million viewers, while the 2024 event had over 13 million people tune in. This year’s event on Feb. 9 will feature 142 dogs competing, all looking for forever homes.
Over time, new things have been added to the game to draw in more viewers, including a kitty halftime show featuring adoptable cats from various shelters across the U.S. It was an addition welcome by FCHS English teacher and self-acclaimed cat lover Victoria Zavadsky. “Many people love kittens, too,” she said.
One relatively new aspect of the Puppy Bowl is its incorporation of special needs dogs into the game. According to the Daily Progress, Charlottesville animal shelter Green Dogs Unleashed has nine dogs entered into this year’s Puppy Bowl, including three special needs dogs.
“Jolene is my favorite of this year’s competing special needs dog because it’s super cool to see how she is still able to move around without her back legs,” said 2024 FCHS graduate Logan Marchant. Current junior Emma Sample also appreciates the inclusion of special needs puppies. “They’re cuter and more entertaining to watch than normal puppies,” she said.
One new addition to this year’s event is the “Puppy Combine.” According to Discovery, this event will feature 10 dogs during a “warmup” for the Puppy Bowl game. This will lead to a “Puppy Draft” where the best pups can be drafted into one of two teams, Team Ruff and Team Fluff. The show will include a section where all the players are “interviewed.”
If you are interested in adopting a dog or cat through the Puppy Bowl, the 2025 event will take place on Feb. 9 at 2 p.m. on Animal Planet, Discovery, Max, TBS, and truTV. You can also vote for your favorite puppy player, giving them a chance to win the title of Most Pupular.
