When it comes to pageantry, the fine folks at Animal Planet do not mess around. This was my biggest takeaway from attending the 10th annual Puppy Bowl Experience. Against my better judgement, I trudged through the madness of Times Square on Super Bowl weekend where organizers were expecting a million visitors. And doggone it, it was worth it.
I double dog dared a couple friends to meet me at Discovery Times Square. It was quite the dog and pony show, consisting of 20+ interactive booths full of puppy-themed activities.
Fun facts about the Puppy Bowl:
- The real thing is filmed months in advance.
- Pups must be between 12 and 21 weeks old to participate.
- These lucky dogs are rescues, and most get adopted before the Puppy Bowl ever airs.
- Producers smear peanut butter on camera lenses to attract the pooches.
First, we met Mo, the spokesdog for Mohawk Carpet, and were offered some free carpet samples.
The Most Out-of-Place Award goes to: the Twizzlers booth! Unlimited Twizzlers for all!
Then came dogtag time. Puppy Bowl reps were cranking out dogtags faster than you can imagine.
Then they threw us a literal bone! With this exclusive bone chair!
And that’s not all folks… we visited the Puppy Bowl Hall of Fame.
There were 30+ screens playing past Puppy Bowls, but nothing compared to the fanfare of the real deal. One dog-tired pup was sleeping on the sidelines, while others traded in and out of the game. Except for a few dog eat dog moments, it was spectacular!
Finally, we exited through the Puppy Bowl gift shop. In the words of Florence Welsh, “the dog days are over” for me, but I couldn’t have asked for a better time at the Puppy Bowl. For now, I’ll be following @Meepthebird as she tweets live updates and waiting for Keyboard Cat to play the halftime show. Happy Puppy Bowl Sunday, yall!