The Starting Lineup For The 2015 Puppy Bowl Has Been Released

From my limited understanding, the Superbowl is some kind of sporting event that doubles as a vehicle for big-name advertisers and a whole lot of “Superb Owl” tweets. My excitement over it starts and ends with the Puppy Bowl: the annual two-hour Animal Planet special that airs ahead of the Sunday night game, in which dozens of puppies are released onto the field, to fall all over each other.

The Puppy Bowl has been a thing since 2005, when the network aired a 12-hour montage of dogs just hanging out in a miniature stadium built for the event. 5.6 million viewers tuned in.

These days, it’s an even bigger deal: the naming rights of the stadium have been sold (Geico); there’s a VIP suite for cats (sponsored by Sheba cat food), and the field is covered by advertising; 2014’s show was broken up with nine ads, from brands like AT&T, Hershey, Subaru, Walt Disney and Warner Bros.

It also featured a “live-tweeting” bird, a half-time show of kittens, and penguin cheerleaders.

I have no idea what I’m doing.

For 2015’s Puppy Bowl, they’ve raised the stakes again; this will be the first year that there are actual teams, with a competitive score being kept. And this year, the cheerleaders will be goats.

Overnight, Animal Planet uploaded lineup details of both teams, Ruff vs Fluff. Watch the pre-game show below, and check out the player stats underneath.

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Split into two teams for the first year in the Puppy Bowl’s history, it’s Fluff (yellow) vs Ruff (green). This year’s 56 starting players comprise a smorgasbord of breeds, pitting Pudge against Smudge; Faulkner against Hemingway; and Drew Carey against Bryan Adams. There’s some exceptional ears in the mix, and a decent representation from Australian Shepards and Cattle Dogs.

Here’s the run-down; you can create your own fantasy draft on Animal Planet.

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TEAM FLUFF

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TEAM RUFF

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The Puppy Bowl XI, takes place this Sunday from 2-5pm EST; to read more head here.

Here are highlights from last year’s match: