Why Puppy Bowl will be top dog on Super Bowl Sunday

It's Puppy Bowl time! Team Ruff versus Team Fluff! And while Lady Gaga will be the halftime entertainment act during Sunday's Super Bowl, Kitty Gaga and the Chicago Rock Cats will be performing "Puparazzi" when Puppy Bowl goes to its halftime.

What do you mean, you've never heard of Puppy Bowl? This is the phenomenally popular TV show that airs each year on Super Bowl Sunday, on the Animal Planet channel. Some genius sat in a room back in 2005 and jokingly tried to come up with an idea for a show that would be a spoiler on another channel to the most-watched live TV event in America – the Super Bowl.

Everyone loves puppies, right? So why not put puppies into a miniature version of the Super Bowl pitch and let them scamper around, trying to do homage touchdowns, accompanied by a knowing commentary?

Puppy Bowl now averages 10 million viewers each year, and the show has achieved cult status. On the 10th anniversary of Puppy Bowl, in 2014, Michelle Obama opened the show with footage of pups training for their big event on the South Lawn of the White House. That's how big Puppy Bowl is.

All the puppies are shamelessly chosen for their “unnecessary cuteness” as one Animal Planet employee describes it. Come the day, the Ruffs face off against the Fluffs. Puppy accidents on the pitch are referred to as “turd downs”. This year, 78 puppies will feature. They all come from shelters, and for every puppy, there are hundreds of people offering to rehome them after their starring roles.

Stand by for Puppy Bowl XIII.