The Players' Tribune

Puppy Bowl XII

The Players’ Tribune

The Players' Tribune

The Voice of the Game

We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming to bring you a hard-hitting dispatch from the highest pinnacle of sporting competition.

As the Panthers and Broncos prepare to square off in Super Bowl 50, we turn our attention to the other Big Game, Animal Planet’s Puppy Bowl.

This year, the furry rivals from Team Ruff and Team Fluff square off in Puppy Bowl XII, and when they take the field, no chew toy is safe. These are competitors of the highest pedigree, and wherever competition goes, so too goes The Players’ Tribune.

Puppies from Team Fluff and Team Ruff discuss strategy in the locker room prior to taking the field.
Puppies from Team Fluff and Team Ruff discuss strategy in the locker room prior to taking the field. /
Magic, a 16-week-old Chihuahua from Team Fluff, gets some last-minute coaching.
Magic, a 16-week-old Chihuahua from Team Fluff, gets some last-minute coaching. /
Miss Sassy, a 12-week-old Boston Terrier from Team Fluff, takes the field during player intros.
Miss Sassy, a 12-week-old Boston Terrier from Team Fluff, takes the field during player intros. /
Wrinkles, a 12-week-old Shar-Pei from Team Fluff, brings the crowd to its feet.
Wrinkles, a 12-week-old Shar-Pei from Team Fluff, brings the crowd to its feet. /
Buttons, a 13-week-old Shih Tzu from Team Fluff, takes the field.
Buttons, a 13-week-old Shih Tzu from Team Fluff, takes the field. /
Buttons receives pregame treatment.
Buttons receives pregame treatment. /
Wrinkles tangles with Team Ruff’s Darby, a 15-week-old Jack Russell Terrier, and Leah, a 15-week-old Rottweiler.
Wrinkles tangles with Team Ruff’s Darby, a 15-week-old Jack Russell Terrier, and Leah, a 15-week-old Rottweiler. /
The puppies are flagged for unnecessary roughness by “Rufferee” Dan Schachner.
The puppies are flagged for unnecessary roughness by “Rufferee” Dan Schachner. /
Miss Sassy from Team Fluff owns the mome
49 puppies from 44 shelters across the U.S. and Puerto Rico are in the starting lineups this year.
49 puppies from 44 shelters across the U.S. and Puerto Rico are in the starting lineups this year. /
Wrinkles takes on the tough questions in a postgame interview.
Wrinkles takes on the tough questions in a postgame interview. /
A fan poses for a photo with a weary competitor.
A fan poses for a photo with a weary competitor. /
Tickets are tough to come by for The Game of the Century.
Tickets are tough to come by for The Game of the Century. /
All the puppies get the hero treatment postgame.
All the puppies get the hero treatment postgame. /
The puppies return to the locker room after a tough game.
The puppies return to the locker room after a tough game. /
Carolina, an American Staffordshire Terrier, steals a postgame nap.
Carolina, an American Staffordshire Terrier, steals a postgame nap. /

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