Puppy Bowl Contestants Take Over the 'Today Show' and They're Just Too Cute

While some people are gearing up to watch the San Francisco 49ers take on the Kansas City Chiefs this weekend, there are many of us anxiously awaiting another big annual event — the Puppy Bowl. I personally have already bought my snacks to watch the "big game," and it's good to know that the crew over at the TODAY Show are just as psyched, as a new video online easily proves.

The morning news crew was probably so pumped to see that they had not one but a whole group of pups on set that day.

We have to imagine this was one of the better days at work for the TODAY Show anchors. As the footage from TikTok shows, they rightfully looked delighted when the pups, who are heading into Puppy Bowl XX, showed up at Studio 1A. Even some of the behind-the-scenes members of the crew looked absolutely smitten.

Related: Puppy Bowl Referee Dan Schachner Adopts His First Dog After Fostering 40 Pups

"Team Fluff and Team Ruff will go head-to-head this weekend when they’re unleashed for the 2024 #PuppyBowl in a battle for the Lombarky Trophy — and all the dogs are up for adoption with the #SatoProject!" the video's caption reads.

So it's a cute "competition" all for a good cause? Count me in!

Obviously this is must-see television. In it's twentieth year, things are going to be even bigger and better. Dan Schachner will return as the referee — or "ruffaree," if you will — for his 13th year, TODAY reports. And he's not going to be easy on them.

“All of them," he said, speaking of the kinds of calls he'll make. "Everything that a human football (game) has," he added.

“The typical ones," he continued. "Sniffing, excessive drooling, bathing in the water bowl, neutral bone infraction and the most popular is illegal odor downfield.”

The game will feature 131 puppies, a larger number than any other Puppy Bowl in history. The pups come from 73 shelters across the country and rescue groups from 36 states. As previously mentioned, all the pups will be available for adoption after the game.

Where to Watch the Puppy Bowl

Okay, we don't know about you but we're pretty much sold. If you're looking to watch the Puppy Bowl, you can tune in to Animal Planet, Discovery, TBS, truTV, Max and discovery+. The show will start at around 2 pm EST/11 am PT.

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