Are you ready for some fur balls?
Even the most die-hard NFL fan should take a paws from Deflategate to tune in to “Puppy Bowl XI” at 3 p.m. on Super Sunday.
The pedigreed event promises to be Animal Planet’s most tail-wagging time yet. Instead of every mutt fending for itself, the adorable (and adoptable) players are split into two teams — Team Ruff in green and Team Fluff in yellow — for the first time in the game’s 11-year history.
“It’s going to be chaos,” says the official ruffaree, Dan Schachner, who gave The News a glimpse of the gridiron gang tackling this week by bringing four rescue puppies from the Little Shelter Dog and Cat Adoption Center in Huntington, L.I., to our office for a scrimmage.
The pups stopped the presses as the two cocker spaniels and two pug mixes ran up and down the halls, cuddled with reporters and gnawed on toy footballs.
“The one thing that stops an office cold is puppies,” says Schachner, who’s overseen the canine competition for the past four years.
That goes double for channel surfers. A record-breaking 13.5 million people tuned into “Puppy Bowl’s” marathon 12-hour run last year, and Animal Planet expects an even larger audience this Sunday.
It’s easy to see why. The little pooches visiting The News on Wednesday were a riot. Batman, a 4-month-old black pug mix, kept staring at himself in the mirror. His sister Dolly posed for portraits like a princess while Lily Rose, a 4-month-old cocker spaniel, had her silky ears brushed.
Of course, they can also be a handful. Linelle, a sweet 6-month-old cocker spaniel, peed on one staffer’s leg in her excitement — clearly a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. Some more surprises were left on the floor. But, hey, that’s football.
“That’s nothing,” sniffs the ref, who says he always has a spare uniform in case of accidents. And he’s had plenty. “Puppies terrorize me,” he says, “climbing all over me, tearing my socks apart, tearing my whistle off. If you can imagine it, they’ve probably done it.”
That’s why the “Puppy Bowl” officials introduced a “Terrorizing the Ref” penalty last year, as well as “Paws Interference” (when one doggie blocks another from passing) and “Pancaking,” when a pup sprawls flat on its stomach instead of playing.
“It’s not the Westminster Dog Show, where you see puppies doing elaborate tricks that they’ve worked on for years,” says Schachner. “Sometimes they get a little too rambunctious, or they get a little too lazy, so we motivate them with squeaky toys and noises, or we’ll throw some extra balls on the field to get them to play.”
Puppies score touchdowns whenever they carry a toy into either end zone, and the unscripted Super Bowl parody has delivered some surprisingly incredible plays. One pup inadvertently kicked a toy into the end zone for a field goal last year.
“That was the most insane thing ever to have happened. Unprecedented,” says Schachner. “We’ve also had double touchdowns — two puppies dragging two toys simultaneously into the end zone. You never know what’s going to happen.”
One thing that won’t happen, thankfully: charges of cheating or deflated footballs.
“I check all of the balls myself,” assures the ref. “Unless they’re neutered.”
HOW TO HELP: ADOPT-A-PUP
Each of the 85 “Puppy Bowl” players is up for adoption from 37 shelters across the country.
“This is the whole reason we try to get the word out about ‘Puppy Bowl,’ ” says ruffaree Dan Schachner, who fosters dogs himself — though no former players. “These puppies usually get adopted very quickly, but there’s so many more out there. You can find amazing dogs from your rescue center.”
If you fall in love with one of the star athletes at “Puppy Bowl,” go to animalplanet.com immediately.
“Even if that puppy’s not there anymore, he or she has brothers and sisters available at the same rescue center,” says Schachner.
Click on each pup’s player bio to find the right rescue center; Animal Planet also will air shelter information during the game.
HIGHLIGHTS REEL
Ten prior Puppy Bowls have yielded plenty of dog-eat-dog action. Here are the highlights.
“Puppy Bowl I” — The 2005 inaugural match names scrappy Max, a Jack Russell Terrier and tiniest pup in the pack, the MVP for taking down dogs more than double his size.
“Puppy Bowl II” — The first-ever “Kitty Half-Time Show” featured kittens playing with lights, laser pens and balls of yarn for 30 minutes.
“Puppy Bowl VI” — Bunny cheerleaders root for the ruff riders in 2010. They’re replaced by chickens in 2011, pigs in 2012, hedgehogs wearing tutus in 2013 and penguins in 2014. This year’s “Puppy Bowl” features goat cheerleaders.
“Puppy Bowl VIII” — Aberdeen scores four touchdowns, making him the highest-scoring player in “Puppy Bowl” history. Two pups score a simultaneous double touchdown.
“Puppy Bowl IX” — Unity, a Shepherd mix, snatches the ball out of the jaws of dachshund Harry to score a touchdown.
“Puppy Bowl X” — First Lady Michelle Obama opens the 2014 show from the White House. Shyla the Labrador kicks the first-ever field goal. Ginger the Old English Sheepdog also gets hit with three consecutive penalties, including terrorizing the ref and abusing the water bowl with excessive hydration.
