The 2025 Puppy Bowl is finally here, and fans cannot wait to watch their favorite furry athletes hit the field. This year, 142 puppies from 80 shelters across 40 states will compete for the “Lombarky” trophy. Every pup in the game is up for adoption, making the Puppy Bowl a fun way to raise awareness for rescue animals.
The event runs alongside the Super Bowl and reminds people to adopt pets instead of not shop. With sports commentators Steve Levy and Taylor Rooks calling the action, this year’s matchup promises plenty of cute chaos.
Inside the history of the Puppy Bowl
You can catch the three-hour Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet, Discovery, TBS, and truTV. It’s available on Discovery+, Max, and Fubo if you prefer streaming. The main event kicks off at 2 p.m. ET, but for the first time ever, a special Puppy Bowl XXI Kickoff starts at 1 p.m. ET.
This pre-show called the “Puppy Combine,” will show off the pups’ talents before they hit the field. Viewers can also learn how to adopt one of these playful athletes, or any pet from participating shelters, throughout the broadcast.
How did the Puppy Bowl start?
Believe it or not, the Puppy Bowl started as a joke. In 2005, Animal Planet executives brainstormed ways to compete with the Super Bowl. Someone jokingly suggested putting puppies in a box on television and calling it a day, and that was it. What started as a silly idea turned into a surprise hit.
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The very first Puppy Bowl, filmed in Silver Spring, Maryland, drew 5.8 million viewers in a single day. Fans loved watching puppies wrestle on a tiny football field, so the tradition naturally stuck and is thriving, too. Nearly two decades later, the Puppy Bowl remains a must-watch event.