While the Kansas City Chiefs vs. Philadelphia Eagles clash in Super Bowl 59 will be the highlight of Sunday, Feb. 9, animal lovers will be glued to the screens to watch “Puppy Bowl 21” before the big game kicks off.
The annual canine-powered sporting event celebrated its two-decade anniversary last year and is engraved into the rich history of the Super Bowl. Let’s examine when it started, how to watch it, and more.
How Did the ‘Puppy Bowl’ Start, and How Is the Game Played?
“Puppy Bowl” started as counter-programming for the New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles’ Super Bowl clash in 2005. The idea was to mimic the football game with a batch of puppies playing inside a model stadium, and it worked.
The show logged 5.8 million viewers and became an annual tradition. It’s now heading into its 21st edition and will feature the highest number of adoptable pups, 142, in its history on Sunday, Feb. 9.
How Is the Game Played?
The “Puppy Bowl” features two teams, Team Ruff and Team Fluffy, having equal numbers of puppies. The aim for the teams is to score as many points as possible by carrying a chew toy to the end zone. Whichever team scores more after a set number of hours, wins the game.
And guess what? There are MVPs as well — Most Valuable Puppy.
While Puppy Bowl is recorded months earlier, its puppy game is monitored by a human umpire who calls penalties for acts such as tail pulling.
Where Do the Puppies Come From?
The puppies come from various animal shelters and rescue centers across the USA and a few other countries. The puppies are then put up for adoption.
This year’s event is featuring 142 puppies from 80 different shelters. Let’s see how to watch it then.
How To Watch ‘Puppy Bowl 21’?
“Puppy Bowl 21” will start with a reimagined opening show at 1 p.m. ET on Feb. 9 ahead of the Super Bowl. The main show will run from 2-5 p.m. ET and will be available to watch on Animal Planet, Discovery Channel, TBS, truTV, Max and Discovery+.
Chiefs vs. Eagles Super Bowl 59 Preview
Based on PFN’s win probability model, which ran 10,000 simulations via the PFN Playoff Predictor, the Eagles have a 52.8% chance of defeating the Chiefs.
The Chiefs aim to become the first team in NFL history to win three straight Super Bowls. Kansas City has won three of the last five Super Bowls and will be the first NFL team to play in five Super Bowls over a six-season span.
This is Philadelphia’s third Super Bowl appearance in the last eight seasons. The Eagles defeated the Patriots in Super Bowl 52 and lost to the Chiefs two seasons ago in Super Bowl 57.