It was a tough game for Team Fluff.
The winners of the 2021 Puppy Bowl have their coveted Lombarky Trophy: Team Ruff, the underdogs after consecutive victories by opponents Team Fluff, won the 17th annual matchup of adoptable puppies and dogs.
Seventy puppies entered this year’s “cutest game ever played”, led by longtime “rufferee” Dan Schachner.
Here’s a leg by leg summary of the riveting rumble.
Team Ruff’s archer, an American Staffordshire Terrier, kicked off the game wildly with a penalty for “illegal use of the goalposts” – pulling the opposing team’s goalpost away.
Ruff’s Muffin, a terrier mix, scored the team’s first touchdown after a fierce tackle from hard-of-hearing terrier Marshall – who is training to become a support pup for nurses on the front lines of the COVID pandemic and an early contender for Most Valuable Pup.
Meanwhile, Chow Chow mix Chunky Monkey was penalized for “excessive sleep” after his nap on the sidelines. Nice, but not a cigar. Still, Twitter went crazy with the Most Valuable Mood that the Chunk dedicated himself.
Later in the first quarter, a brutal battle ensued between Muffin and Marshall, while Team Fluff’s nervous Nelly Gus needed a bit of a “pup” talk to get his head in the game. Unfortunately, Marshall came over the goal line for Team Fluff’s first touchdown. Very Good Boy Milky Way also contributed to Fluff’s first quarter touchdowns. Paulie, a little crook of a mix, immediately barked back and won a touchdown for team Ruff. Teammate Mix Hashbrown made a 21-21 tie at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, the Great Pyrenees mix Duke was duped by Team Fluff’s indestructible attack, giving golden retriever Belreken the opening for a touchdown, bringing his team 35-21 after another TD from the terrier-bulldog mix Sonic .
A hard of hearing beagle mix, Ruff’s Fletcher scored another jubilant touchdown, with Ruff’s first field goal scored by Tank, an adorable Rottweiler / boxer, at the end of the first half. Team Fluff remained the winner, no thanks to Fluff’s Erica, a border collie mix who chose to take it easy in a nice quiet corner of the stadium.
The puppies got a rest during the halftime show, performed by a highly stimulated group of kittens led by DJ Grand Master Scratch on the turntables.
At the beginning of the third quarter, Team Fluff’s energy source Fozzie received a penalty for “panning the puppy.” But the Norwegian Elkhound mix still looked flying – thanks to a special grooming at Harlem’s Doggie Day Spa prior to the big event. Later, Apollo from Ruff gave Dwight a clear path to the end zone, giving Ruff a three-point lead. The win didn’t last long, as Fluff’s Belgrade scored again after a rather aggressive tackle in the water basin at Tank’s expense.
In the last quarter, crowd favorite Jett – a two-legged lab with his own cart on wheels – made his canine debut, scoring a touchdown for Team Fluff, thanks to an assist from lab / terrier mix Jay.
American Staffordshire Terrier / Dutch Shepherd Paulie joined the two-touchdown club for team Ruff, but the team couldn’t keep up with the good guys. Bel level – who honestly looked a bit big for a puppy – scored his fourth touchdown for Fluff.
Muffin made the game a real paw biter, scoring another TD for Ruff, bringing the score to 66-69 with less than a minute to go.
But Team Ruff scraped its way to victory for Team Ruff thanks to Big Boss Paulie from New York. After Team Fluff’s back-to-back victories over the years, Team Ruff barked its way to legend-hood with a final score of 73-69.
Let’s not forget that the game’s MVP – Marshall, our hard of hearing Boston Terrier – took the esteemed title. Extra treats for Marshall!
The big game was joined by a string of famous animal lovers: it was hosted by best friends Martha Stewart and Snoop Dogg, who set the table with snacks and drinks – DO-double-G brought the gin and juice, of course.
First Lady Jill Biden was joined by her rescue efforts of German Shepherds Champ and Major Biden, delivered a PSA on dog adoption – and also wore masks. Actress Kristen Bell joined the action and fostered rescue puppy Java for a day.
But the real winners of the game were the 70 families who took champions home after the Puppy Bowl – according to Animal Planet, every last dog in every Puppy Bowl will be adopted by the time the show airs.