Team Fluff unleashed its athleticism to assert the title of ultimate Puppy Bowl 2023 champs.
The furry favorites beat out Team Ruff to be awarded the Lombarky Trophy Sunday evening after the nineteenth Annual Puppy Bowl game. This historic match-up made history after the 2 teams headed into time beyond regulation for the fur-st time ever — with the ultimate rating coming in at 87-83.
This yr’s competition — which kicked off Sunday afternoon on Animal Planet, TBS and HBO Max via livestream on Discovery+ — was the biggest yet, with over 120 pups going snout-to-snout for the prize. Pomeranian Pickle was crowned because the game’s MVP.
After only keeping track of the rating the last six years of Puppy Bowl, the 2 teams (Fluff within the blue kerchiefs, Ruff within the orange) were all tied up three-to-three – historically speaking.
But the true winners didn’t just take home gold – they scored a possible perpetually home.
“Because we’re playing a game, we’re having fun, we’re getting the message out about adoption,” referee Dan Schachner told The Post, adding that the bowl game has a 100% adoption rate every yr.
“But the true drive here, the true win, the true championship is these guys having a perpetually home and never languishing in a shelter perpetually,” he added.
There’s just one rule in Puppy Bowl: they need to drag a chew toy into the End Zone with a purpose to rating. Only a handful of the dogs are allowed on the sphere at a time.
Throughout the sport, pups were flagged for various fouls – while some were a play on words in tandem with the NFL’s terminology, others are simply made up on the fly. “Turd on the 20,” for instance, is something only these untrained pups may very well be fouled for – or so we hope.
“We try to seek out recent ones which can be applied to dogs,” Schachner said. “It’s all about attempting to be creative with the penalties that exist within the NFL and apply them to dogs.”
Team Fluff got off to a roaring start, with powerhouse Pomeranian Pickle stealing the show by scoring the team’s first two touchdowns, taking the primary toy all the way in which into the tip zone and into the tunnel. He ran for over 300 yards without an interference in the primary touchdown!
It was an actual nail-biter as DaVinci, a Poodle/Labrador Retriever, scored Team Ruff’s first touchdown of the sport, setting the rating 14-7. He could have given Team Ruff some hope, but at the tip of the primary quarter, Team Fluff was within the lead yet again, with Beagle/Pomeranian/Australian Cattle Dog Wolfie scoring a touchdown, putting them ahead 21-7. Woof!
DaVinci got here back swinging–literally–to start with of the second quarter, scoring one other touchdown for Team Ruff. Little Mighty, an American Pit Bull Terrier/American Staffordshire Terrier, took his cue from his teammate and touched down big time again, putting the sport in a tie halfway through the second quarter.
A battle then ensued between mixed-bread Espresso and Kokobean, an American Pitbull Terrier mix, with Espresso snagging the toy from her opponent, but ultimately dropping it. She bounced back quickly, taking it 70 yards across the sphere and winning more points for Team Fluff.
Nevertheless, it looks like Espresso got here down with a case of fumble-itis, as Kokobean scored for Team Ruff — but that didn’t last for long, with Poodle-mix Penelope scoring for Team Fluff yet again.
Vivianne, a Siberian Husky/Rottweiler/Neapolitan Mastiff, shocked the gang as she put her paw through the ring of her chew toy within the midst of scoring a touchdown, and led Team Fluff to yet one more victory ahead of the Kitty Halftime Show–which featured DJ’s and UFO’s, after all.
Tensions remained high between the 2 teams because the third quarter kicked off, as Ruff’s Shiba Inu Bandit and Fluff’s Shiba Inu Rascal tore one another up on the sphere. Rascal made the primary touchdown for Team Fluff, extending their result in 49-28.
A timeout was called in time for a water break for Fluff’s Boston Terrier Cooper, a Seattle local who was actually invited to the Seattle Seahawk’s training facility! The Seattle Seahawks worked with Cooper’s shelter for his or her day of service. And it looks like his all-star training paid off, as he scored one other touchdown for his team.
Late within the third, American Foxhound and German Shepherd mix Moose got the juice, giving Team Ruff a couple of more points, however it was Vivianne who ultimately scored one other touchdown for Fluff.
Before viewers knew it, the fourth quarter was well underway, with Wolfie making his second touchdown of the sport for Team Fluff. Josh Allenhound, a combination from Buffalo, played some great defense, however it was mix-breed Roland ultimately scored two touchdowns for team Ruff, and American Pit Bull Terrier/American Staffordshire Terrier Pascal making a smooth, 99-yard run, narrowing the rating 73-70, Team Ruff.
In a race to the furry finish line, they headed into time beyond regulation over a double touchdown made by Kokobean and Espresso, as they clutched the identical toy! In the long run, the sport was close–but Vivianne ultimately made the winning touchdown for Team Fluff at 87-83.
Meet Team Fluff
Asiago
This Bassett Hound had the masses cheesing throughout the show.
Asiago — whose original name was Duke before he was surrendered by his original owner — has found his perpetually home. In his recent family, Asiago is one in all three “cheese boys,” along together with his adopted siblings Parmesan and Reggiano.
Despite his sweet nature, the hound, from Tri-State Bassett Hound Rescue in Pennsville, Latest Jersey, was able to take down the competition as a member of Team Fluff.
Marshmallow
One in all five siblings that were surrendered by their owner, Marshmallow has been at Aheinz57 Pet Rescue in DeSoto, Iowa. On the time, they were living in a horse stall, “scared and unsocialized” and “filthy,” but thankfully turned out to be the sweetest dogs.
Marshmallow is a Great Pyrenees Australian Cattle Dog who’s described as playful and “stuffed with energy.” He’s a complete lovebug — getting together with any pup he meets — and has been already adopted by a family, who’ve a 2-year-old whom he loves to guard.
Bacon & Eggs
They’re an egg-cellent pair.
Bacon and Eggs arrived together on the doorstep of the Blue Water Area Humane Society in Clyde, Michigan. The Border Collie Chow Chow mixes were so young on the time, they were too little to be away from their mama. Thankfully, the staff nursed them with extra care and a spotlight, they usually’ve grown as much as be sweet, playful pups who’re “very smart.”
The way to adopt a Puppy Bowl player
If you happen to would love to take a player home with you, you possibly can accomplish that through the event’s website. Throughout the published, 11 shelters will even showcase one in all their puppies available for adoption throughout the big game.