Meet the 'Puppy Bowl' Ref and the Top Puppy Players

Today's cuppa: more French Vanilla coffee from the Tassino

It wouldn't be Super Bowl Sunday if I didn't do a syndicated feature on "Puppy Bowl," and here's this year's (and yes, I will be watching on the phone with my pal and mentor in all things tea, the estimable Tia Cupps, sequestered in her lair somewhere back East, working on black-tea ops for the federal government. Hmmm...maybe we'll liveblog. Whaddya think?) ...

Andrew Schechter has his dream job - donning the striped shirt as referee for the sixth edition of Animal Planet's "Puppy Bowl," airing Sunday, Feb. 7, across from that other big football game.

 

Airing in rotation through the afternoon and evening, the two-hour special features puppies romping on the gridiron at the Animal Planet Stadium in Silver Spring, Md.

 

Of course, Schechter's dream job also involves picking up puppy poo, but he's OK with that.

 

"When the opportunity arose," he says, "I couldn't say no. If you are told you have an opportunity to pretty much work with puppies all day long in the cutest job available, I think anyone would raise their hand and say, 'Hey, it's time to really take advantage of the job.' "

 

Three years ago, says Schechter, he was working at Animal Planet as an associate producer and, in that capacity, was attending a planning meeting for "Puppy Bowl IV." The idea of who should be the referee came up.

 

Recalls Schechter, "I whispered to my boss, Melinda Toporoff, who's the executive producer on the show, and said, 'I want to be the ref. I want to be the ref.'

 

"She knows that I have an acting background. I grew up doing a lot of theater, from when I was little. I still do theater. She brought up the idea, 'Andrew actually would love to be the referee.'

 

"At first the entire room started laughing, because they didn't think I was serious. They said, 'Wait a minute, are you serious? You really want to do this?' I was, like, 'Yes, I want to do this.' That was my first year doing it. Three years later, 'Puppy Bowl VI,' I'm proud to say, I'm still the seasoned ref."

 

Schechter is eager to reveal that there are a few new elements to this year's broadcast, and it involves broadening the concept to other members of the animal kingdom.

 

"For some reason," he says, "if you're not a dog person, and if you're not a cat person, this year, we've upped the ante. Are you ready for this?

 

"For the first time ever, flying high above Animal Planet Stadium, you have the Twizzlers blimp, which is being flown by hamsters.

"And if this wasn't enough for you, on the sidelines this year, cheering on our puppy players, the world famous bunny-rabbit cheerleaders are donning the pompoms."

 

And of course, the Kitty Halftime Show also comes back.

 

"We give the kittens a nice stage to play on," Schechter says. "We give them a little burlesque music. It's always surprising when you see how much action they show on the field when it's their time to perform."

 

Last year, Pepper the Parrot performed the national anthem, but for this year's "Star-Spangled Banner," Schechter says, "We just have a nice version of the national anthem, with some beauty shots of all the puppy players. It will bring a tear to your eye again."

 

In past years, the puppy players were a mix of dogs from shelters and purebred pups from breeders. This year, it's all shelter puppies.

 

Asked what the "Puppy Bowl" has against breeders, Schechter says, "Safe breeding is always something we support, but although the 'Puppy Bowl' is cute and fun, and we always have fun, we do try to have a message, which is that shelter dogs need to be adopted.

 

"We really support Petfinder.com, and they help us find a lot of the puppies."

 

While Schechter already knows the identity of the official Most Valuable Puppy, there's also the one that the viewers will choose on the night of the big game.

 

For that, Schechter's money is on a black-and-white French bulldog from Oklahoma with a marking on one side that looks like an upside-down heart.

 

"She's a lover, not a fighter," Schechter says. "That will be a fan favorite."

 

Also in the running is Jake, a Chihuahua-pug cross - or "Chug" - from New Jersey.

 

"This Chug," Schechter says, "has pretty much the most energy of any dog I've ever seen on the Animal Planet Stadium field. He doesn't always have the ball, but the key is running up and down the field.

 

"He was giving our cameramen whiplash, to be honest with you."

 

While Schechter says that "Puppy Bowl" should remain special and not be spun off into other sports, he does warm to the idea of a Wiener Dog Derby to counterprogram the Kentucky Derby horse race.

 

"I like that," he says. "Little dachshund derby? Well, hey, if it's promoting adoption, you might be on to something there."

 

But it might have to be done as interstitials, since one wouldn't want to tire out those little legs.

 

"A wiener dog can only go so far," Schechter says.

UPDATE: Click here for a slideshow of the puppy-player lineup.