Find out how you can watch the ruffest competition before Super Bowl LV.
On Sunday, Feb. 7, two teams will take to the gridiron for a hard-nosed battle. They’ll scratch and claw with all their might to be victorious on the field of battle. At the end of it all, only one team can be able to hold up the most prestigious of all prizes… the Lombarky Trophy. Did you think this was about the NFL‘s Super Bowl LV? No, it’s Puppy Bowl XVII!
It’s the annual Super Bowl day tradition where puppies from shelters will be put on display — running around the field with their toys to score touchdowns, committing penalties like unnecessary ruff-ness and showing off their cuteness to win over America’s hearts.
Puppy Bowl 2021 information and how to watch
Most likely due to restrictions from COVID-19, there’s a slight decrease in the number of participating pups this year. Nevertheless, 70 adorable puppies from 22 shelters and rescues across nine Northeastern States will represent and take part in the puppy extravaganza.
This year’s event will also have a couple of special guest hosts as Snoop Dogg and Martha Stewart as they bring a tailgate party and cheer on their favorite team (Team Fluff for Snoop Dogg and Team Ruff for Stewart).
It will also be the first time where, in addition to Animal Planet, the event will be broadcasted on Discovery’s new streaming service — Discovery+.
This will mark Dan Schachner’s 10th year as the contest’s “rufferee.” Alongside him calling the action will be two featured ESPN personalities in Monday Night Football play-by-play man Steve Levy and SportsCenter host Sage Steele, as well as animal advocate and TV correspondent Jill Rappaport.
Senior rescue cat DJ Grand Master Scratch will be the featured performer in this year’s Kitty Half-Time Show.
Everything kicks off with the pregame show at 1 p.m. ET, featuring expert analysis and previewing from names such as Rodt Weiler, James Hound and Sheena Inu, and field reporters Brittany Spaniel and Herman Shepard.
Will Team Fluff or Team Ruff come out victorious? Who will win the Most Valuable Pup award? Tune in and find out — here’s how:
Date: Sunday, Feb. 7
Start Time: 2 p.m. ET (1 p.m. ET preshow)
TV Channel: Animal Planet
Live Stream: Animal Planet and Discovery+