THE REAL SUPER BOWL!

Happy National Freedom Day on February 1st and bets on that few knew about this holiday. I personally think it should have more recognition but then what do I know being feline and all?! Just so you know President Harry Truman signed a bill proclaiming February 1st as National Freedom Day on June 30, 1948. The purpose of this holiday was to promote good feelings, harmony, and equal opportunity among all citizens and to remember that the United States is a nation dedicated to the ideal of freedom. Reason enough to honor the day, wouldn't you say?

February 2nd we have Groundhog Day...uh-huh, bets are that everyone knew about that day. Seems kind of sad there's always headlines about this rodent known as Punxsutawney Phil but not so much about National Freedom Day. Anyway the critter saw his chubby little shadow this year and consequently people believe there will be six more weeks of winter rather than an early spring. According to one website old PP has seen his shadow 99 times and only failed to see it 16 times. There's also 9 years of missing records but at any rate it seems to me this is one really freaking old rodent.

So that brings us to the 3rd and 4th of the month and nothing to denote for those two days...unless you want to count the 4th as Super Bowl Eve this year. Sports fans everywhere anxious to watch the game of the year with the New York Giants battling the New England Patriots for the trophy. Well, that is not the game we're watching. We'll be tuning in to the real Super Bowl game known as The Puppy Bowl VIII.

Puppy Bowl VIII has a fantastic starting line-up, the kitty halftime show can't be beat and this year features the Piglet Pep Squad. Better yet, no wardrobe malfunctions or aging rock stars squawking at the airwaves. It's a win-win bowl!

So rather than discuss the spandex set or latex or whatever it is those guys are poured into and puffed out of, let's talk about the Puppy Bowl VIII. I've learned some interesting facts on this game. The average age of the players is 10 weeks so there's never really any unnecessary roughness, just cuteness...even if we are talking puppies and not kitties. As long as the chew toy is successfully dragged into the end zone it is a puppy touchdown. The referee will keep a close look out for illegal use of paws or premature watering of the turf, otherwise known as fouls in football lingo.

I recently read that the very first Puppy Bowl drew 150,000 viewers. Last year's bowl drew 9.2 million! Now that's a touchdown people. Seriously, what's to ooh & aw over beefy dudes piled up in a heap, fighting over a silly ball when there's puppies on the field?

The Puppy Bowl is actually taped in the fall and the puppies come from various animal shelters around the country. Following the show they are all hopefully adopted. They have 58 different pups playing at different times throughout the game, allowing each one about 20 to 30 minutes to play. The stage lights get very hot and care is taken to not wear out the little paws. Not only are the puppies up for adoption, the little piglets are sold as companion piggies.

So we're all set here to watch the Puppy Bowl VIII and see Baskin, Brandy, Abilene, Hunter, Eurika, Joni, Augusta, Delilah, Lucie, Anthony, Gracie, Friday, Malie, Calvin, Leroy Brown and the rest of the line-up...just to name a few.

A big thank you goes out to Animal Planet for providing such a wonderful alternative to Super Bowl Sunday. Kick-off is 3:00 PM ET so grab your Friskies Treats and tune in!