The Puppy Bowl was held at Super Bowl Central in downtown Phoenix on Jan. 29, 2015. A small faux football field was set up for all adoptable puppies to play. (Emily Johnson/ The State Press)For the first time in its 11-year run, Animal Planet split the Puppy Bowl's canine participants into two teams and put them head-to-head leading to a thrilling conclusion.
The pups were divided into Team Ruff and Team Fluff, where they competed for the coveted Lumbarki trophy. In past years, the score of the game was not monitored. Instead, the game was a free-for-all of puppy playtime.
#PuppyBowl fun fact: this is the first Bowl where the score is being recorded ?
— State Press Sports (@statepresssport) February 1, 2015
Henri Le Chat Noir
provided predictions about the outcome of the Bowl
Predicted Winner: Team Tuff | Actual Winner: Team Tuff
#PuppyBowl final score 87-49, with #TeamRuff winning. — State Press Sports (@statepresssport) February 1, 2015
Angela Tegnelia holds Bonnie at the Puppy Bowl at the Super Bowl Central in downtown Phoenix on Jan. 29, 2015. Every puppy at the event was available for adoption. (Emily Johnson/ The State Press)Predicted MVP: Boomer or Papi | Actual MVP: Cara
Cara of #TeamFluff was voted #MVP. (That's Most Valuable Pup).
— State Press Sports (@statepresssport) February 1, 2015
The addition of score keeping and goat cheerleaders really helped the game become more interesting and will certainly help attract more viewers for Puppy Bowl XII. Overall, it was an exciting game supporting a noble cause. Bravo, Animal Planet.
Tell the opinion editor who you thought deserved Puppy Bowl MVP at opinion.statepress@gmail.com or follow @mikayrodr on Twitter.
Like State Press Sports on Facebook and follow @statepresssport on Twitter.
