POST PUPPY BOWL

From a feline's perspective I have to admit that Puppy Bowl VIII was an exciting game to watch. The stands were packed with enthusiastic fans making this year's bowl a huge success. The starting line-up was loaded with high energy all stars ready to bounce onto the playing field. About the end of the first quarter Fumble scored the first touchdown of the game. Baskin was soon edging in but seemed to have trouble handling the ball. No challenge to Fumble. 2nd quarter brought in Leroy Brown who came on strong in spite of rumors that he actually preferred baseball. Calvin seemed very excited about the plays and York was more than ready to throw his weight around. Suddenly Fumble tackles Prancer, showing off his speeding abilities as he heads across the stretch. Next he gets tackled by Oscar who seemed to come out of nowhere. A personal foul was then called on account of a dog tag tackle by Fumble. Fumble quickly distracts his opponents and scores another touchdown. Then Shiloh scores, a rookie with great footwork shown as she heads to the end zone. In comes tiny but mighty Fumble to score another touchdown. At this stage of the game Fumble looked like a definite contender for MVP of the year...well, up until he needed a short nap at the end of the first half.

Halftime entertainment was outstanding as the kitty kapers displayed genuine gymnastics abilities. Even Madonna couldn't compete with these athletically skilled kitties. It was a non-stop fluffy finale. Not a single mishap, misstep or wardrobe malfunction to be seen.

Into the 2nd half we see Augusta coming out full force, taking the ball, heading to the end zone, stopping, reversing direction, running to the other end zone and scoring a touchdown. In fact, it was history in the making as two touchdowns were made simultaneously.

The Piggy Pep Squad went nuts, the crowd roared with delight. You know, even the 'Kiss Cams' were adorable...and when do we ever use that word talking about football?

There were no doubt too many great plays to list them all but I really have to say I don't think I've ever seen that many touchdowns in a game. In the 2nd half we witnessed Aberdeen come out ready to go. At one point he had the ball, was all ready to score when Hollie scooped it away, losing her footing long enough for Aberdeen to regain the ball and score.

Referee Dan Schachner had to call a time-out for too many puppies on the playing field and then he discovered his flag and whistle were missing. Think he may have blamed a feline party but not sure.

For a short time the tailgaters were annoyed when it appeared as though the players just wanted to dance around when suddenly Aberdeen scored again. Unbelievable footwork by that puppy. Hunter challenged him for the ball. Following an intense face-off, Hunter blinked first and Aberdeen with his sights on the end zone scored again. Aberdeen took over as high scorer but did have a foul called on him for excessive toy hogging. It was indeed a new puppy record for most touchdowns in one quarter.

Then the inevitable happened...and people, remember we are talking puppies here! A personal puppy foul was called on Montana for soiling the field resulting in a five yard penalty at the end of the 3rd quarter.

Okay, 4th quarter, Abilene breaks for the end zone, Aberdeen intercepts, Anthony steps in, Abilene continues racing to the goal, another interception, Abilene reverses direction and on to the end zone for a touchdown. Unfortunately, Abilene went too far and earned a personal foul for illegal nipping. Anthony steps up again heading to the end zone when Brandie cuts him off, takes the ball and scores. Aberdeen's got the ball again, Anthony goes for it and succeeds in a touchdown finally. In a great finish to the 4th quarter Sweetie Pie scores a touchdown and does a celebratory dance at the end zone.

All in all it was a great game with super doggie defense. offensive fire power and lots of touchdowns. Fumble did come away with that MVP (most valuable pup) award, Aberdeen scored the most touchdowns and Sweetie Pie had the best end zone dance.

On behalf of us Puppy Bowl-watching cats we do offer our deepest condolences to those of you who missed such a wonderful display of sportsmanship, perhaps in favor watching that spandex set in the Super Bowl. Like some cats the only interest in that game is for the commercials breaks. Thanks to the internet those can be seen without having to endure the game.

I vote Jerry Seinfeld's commercial the best overall. No clue what car he was plugging but he was funny regardless. The Budweiser Flash Fans was really clever and I think even the hockey players agreed. Pepsi and Elton John was pretty good, but being a coca-cola fan I really loved the Polar Bears. Now the dog working out to beat the VW was great as well but gotta tell you....the Chevy Silverado, even with a plug for Twinkies, was pretty farfetched. Then that Fiat - Abarth ad...huh? The Samsung ad...utterly ridiculous. Met Life...get a life! Can't even justify Oikos Yogurt with a comment. The Avengers, eh? Whatever!

My Totally Stupid Dishonorable Mentions go to Century 21 & The Donald, Chevy Volt and/or Chevy Sonic, even dumber, Cadillac ATS...at least it was brief. Add in Career Builders and monkeys for completely silly, Hyundai...ridiculous right along with the Camaro, the Toyota, the Camry and the Lexus. What is this anyway....a car-buying brainwash conspiracy? Do the producers of this fiasco actually think beer drinking fans will cure the day afters hangover by purchasing a new car?

Super Bowl ads for the most part can certainly be humorous but at times they push that sexuality envelope a little too much. So, just how many tattoos does David Beckham have anyway? And who, by the way, wants to necessarily see that during a football game? All you guys were just thrilled with that ad, right? However, on a more serious level, Chrysler sponsored a great message with Clint Eastwood...a very well spoken message for hope and I do hope people got the point.

Final thought....Puppy Bowl Scores!