What's the opposite of NFL football? According to Super Bowl Sunday's counter programming, it's puppies and kittens. For 11 years, Animal Planet has been offering Puppy Bowl as alternative viewing for those who either need a break from the gridiron or who would just rather watch dogs battle it out over toys than grown men. Last year, Hallmark Channel debuted its own alternative: The Kitten Bowl, which will air its second edition Sunday afternoon. This special promises to follow cats frolicking around on a mini-gridiron with mini-footballs and lots of cuteness. While the Kitten Bowl may not stream in its entirety online, Hallmark has plenty of videos and a live-streaming Kitten Cam set up on its website.
The site has video profiles of the feline players, who are named after football players, as well as several super cute vids previewing the action on the field. There's also the Kitten Cam, which will give viewers a sneak peek at the cat training camp. In the midst of all the adorable kitties, you should remember that the little furballs are looking for homes and are available for adoption through the North Shore Animal League.
But what else will the Kitten Bowl feature aside from felines battling it out on the field? Here are the other things you can look forward to aside from the big showdown.
Purrking Lot
Like any football game, the Kitten Bowl has dedicated tailgaters camped out in the parking lot — I mean, the purrking lot. These cat fans are partying with barbecues, lawn chairs, and maybe some kitty beers, too. There's no better way to prep for a big football match-up than with a cold one while sitting in the back of your friend's SUV.
Cat Center
The kittens have their own version of ESPN's famous show. Cat Center is hosted by real sportscasters John Sterling and Mary Carillo. Sterling is famously known as the play-by-play announcer for the New York Yankees. He's announced every Yankees game since 1989 on WABC radio, then WFAN.
Carillo is a former tennis player and a sportscaster for NBC Sports and the Olympics. She's covered the U.S. Open tennis championships for CBS Sports since 1986 and has been an analyst for the Olympic games since 1992 for various networks. Carillo has even appeared as herself in the tennis feature film Wimbledon in 2004.
Host Beth Stern
The North Shore Animal League spokeswoman and TV personality will act as hostess for the fierce feline showdown. She herself has adopted six cats: Apple, Walter, Leon Bear, Charlie Boy, Bella and Yoda. On the animal league website, Stern wrote about how each of this year's 92 kitties already found homes through adoption, after the taping of Kitten Bowl last fall.
"I’m so proud to be part of this incredible event," she wrote. "It’s a thrill to think that the sweet kittens I played with and gave kisses to during the taping of Kitten Bowl II will very possibly be curled up on a warm, cozy couch come Feb. 1, surrounded by the wonderful families who adopted them."
Image: Hallmark Channel (image is from Hallmark.com).
