Networks do not pour a lot sweat and stress into Tremendous Bowl counterprogramming anymore – not since Animal Planet got here up with the answer to beat all of them in 2005: “Pet Bowl.” Legend has it {that a} community govt in quest of a Yuletide Log equal proposed unleashing a lineup of fuzzy poopers right into a fun-sized Plexiglas “stadium” with a bunch of toys.
It’s the yr’s loveliest strategy to do nothing on a midwinter Sunday.
Pet Bowl (Elias Weiss Friedman / Animal Planet)
Different Large Recreation options have come and gone within the years since “Pet Bowl” first debuted, together with Hallmark Channel’s comparably valuable “Kitten Bowl” in 2014 and NatGeo’s “Fish Bowl” which . . . existed.
However all got here to know that that previous showbiz rule about by no means following puppies or youngsters applies to Animal Planet’s annual cuteness showcase. “Fish Bowl” went stomach up after 4 low-rated swims, and even Hallmark canceled the “Kitten Bowl” final yr.
An assortment of fluffy stumblebums tussle over squeaky objects till they drag no matter they put of their mouth into an finish zone. Which one? Who cares.
Thus “Pet Bowl XIX” would’ve run unchallenged in 2023, if not for Nice American Household stepping up with its “Nice American Rescue Bowl,” bringing puppies to the sector together with kittens, grownup cats, and mature canines. The “Pet Bowl” all the time options kittens in its halftime present, however if you wish to watch an agile mouser named Primrose faux to catch a Hail Mary Go, you may must roll into the “Rescue Bowl.”
Nice American Rescue Bowl (GAC Media / © Nice American Household)
Between the 2 you may fully ignore the Tremendous Bowl LVII matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs and preserve the spirit of the Large Recreation day.
This is how this pair of pet options to the Large Recreation evaluate in a moist nose-to-wet nostril matchup.
Pet Bowl (Elias Weiss Friedman / Animal Planet)
“Pet Bowl XIX”
On this nineteenth version of the bowl that’s anybody’s sport, and Pet Bowl Referee Dan Schachner’s twelfth spherical, Animal Planet wrangled 122 puppies together with canines with particular wants, by working with 67 shelters and rescue teams throughout 34 states, together with a Native American animal group, the NAGI group.
By now most individuals know the way it works, however for many who do not – and we envy you, because it’s by no means nearly as good as the primary time! – the canine model of the Large Recreation pits Workforce Ruff towards Workforce Fluff, though workforce affiliation solely issues to people.
On the sector, an assortment of fluffy stumblebums tussle over squeaky objects till they drag no matter they put of their mouth into an finish zone. Which one? Who cares.
Typically a pup will rating two touchdowns in a single magnificent run. Different pups add worth by taking naps in the midst of the sector. Halftime is when the kittens sashay on in, primarily as a result of they do not fetch, carry objects or comply with instructions. However the canines are the celebs, and this yr the pack consists of Kokobean, who comes from the Caribbean island of Dominica, and the artfully named Jimmy Kibble, a Pomeranian-husky combine.
Pet Bowl (Elias Weiss Friedman / Animal Planet)
Do you have to set your coronary heart on a “Pet Bowl” star with whom you merely should snuggle, we now have unhappy information for you, though it means a contented end result for the article of your want: each cuddler within the present has already been adopted. However there’s untapped expertise at your native shelter, which is the purpose of those annual specials. In the event you assume these canines are cute on TV, wait till you run round with one in particular person.
The “Pet Bowl” pre-game present airs on Sunday, Feb. 12 at 10 a.m. PT/1 p.m., adopted by “Pet Bowl XIX” at 11 a.m. PT/ 2 p.m. ET. The sport will be simulcast throughout Animal Planet, Discovery Channel, TBS, discovery+, and HBO Max.
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Nice American Rescue Bowl (GAC Media / © Nice American Household)
“Nice American Rescue Bowl”
If this “new” occasion sounds such as you’ve seen it earlier than, meaning you are both a cat particular person or a Hallmark viewer or – what are the chances? – each.
Nice American Household is run by the earlier regime that managed the Hallmark Channel. Below its CEO Invoice Abbott, almost all of Hallmark’s vacation films remained whiter than Tony Robbins’ chompers till he left in 2021, taking Candace Cameron Bure with him, and assuming the reins of Nice American Nation.
Resurrecting “Kitten Bowl” because the “Nice American Rescue Bowl” and returning Beth Stern as its host, is one other occasion of Abbott selecting up a Hallmark castoff and luring the viewers that channel deserted away to his new place. It’s kind of just like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers plucking Tom Brady out of retirement. Properly, not fairly that . . . extra like that neighbor who usurped your long-standing Tremendous Bowl Get together by asserting he has a brand new residence theater so why does not everybody go to their place this yr? He is a tablet, and your snacks are legendary, however how will you compete with canines and cats taking part in collectively on a wall-sized display screen?
Nice American Rescue Bowl (GAC Media / © Nice American Household)
Anyway. A lot as there’s to adore about “Pet Bowl,” this particular highlights senior canines and cats together with its toddler felines and canines. Child animals promote themselves just by exhibiting up of their disarming pure state, whereas the general public must be reminded that geriatric pooches and pusses are succesful companions needing properties too.
A few of its four-legged athletes have been rescued from the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, together with pets from South Carolina, West Virginia and Antigua. Others are particular wants adoptions and canines saved from pet mills.
We’ll grant you, if you happen to checked out Bure’s first vacation masterwork on GAF, you might be hesitant to dip into “Rescue Bowl.” Fully comprehensible! However the kittens are merely its gateway lure into the world of pet adoption. “100,000 shelter pets bought adopted in the course of the decade of ‘Kitten Bowl,'” a GAF spokesperson advised Salon. “‘Nice American Rescue Bowl’ proudly continues the aim of discovering a loving residence for each pet.”
“Nice American Rescue Bowl” airs Sunday, Feb. 12 at 7 a.m. PT/ 10 a.m. ET and repeats at 1 p.m. PT/4 p.m. ET on Nice American Household.
No one’s stopping you from watching each specials, which you’ll actually do since every repeats all through the day. No matter which one you resolve to sit down and stick with you would possibly need to preserve monitor of the sport clock at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. Gazing at cats and canines could be your bag, however since each of those occasions are pre-recorded, that limits their thriller.
Rihanna’s half-time present, nevertheless, guarantees to be a communal revelation that ought to to not be missed . . . and it is more likely to occur some round or after between 5 p.m. PT/ 8 p.m ET. And in case you are curious, she’s a canine rescuer.
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