Puppy Bowl VIII: Don't Be Ashamed to Admit You Never Miss It

Seven years ago, the idea of intentionally creating a television event in an attempt to compete with the Super Bowl was utter blasphemy. There are some things on TV you just don't mess with, and the Super Bowl is one of them.

But then some guy walked into a boardroom somewhere at Animal Planet's headquarters and said, "I've got an idea! Let's put a bunch of puppies in a miniature stadium and film them doing funny stuff for three hours. At halftime, there can be cats."

Boom. Like that, the Puppy Bowl was born.

Or at least, this is a sound theory of how the Puppy Bowl was born. The real story probably isn't as interesting.

What we do know is that the Puppy Bowl debuted on Feb. 6, 2005, airing alongside Super Bowl XXXIX between the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles. It's been a fixture ever since, and its popularity is only getting bigger. Puppy Bowl VII drew more than nine million viewers.

It's all for a good cause, too, as Puppy Bowl pups are up for adoption. 

Despite all the good vibes surrounding the Puppy Bowl, however, it's just plain hard to get some people to admit that they love it. Alas, hating the Puppy Bowl makes one cool in some circles.

Don't let yourself be sucked into one of these circles. You know you love the Puppy Bowl, and there's absolutely no shame in admitting that you do. By admitting you love puppies, all you're doing is admitting you're human.

That's because humans love puppies, you see. They are silly little creatures that make funny noises and do funny things. When you confront one, it's hard to resist patting it on the head. It's human nature.

That's probably why the Puppy Bowl strikes some people as mindless entertainment. You really don't need your mind to enjoy it. All you have to do is watch, and the puppies will take care of the rest. You don't need to have an intelligent conversation about it or anything like that. In fact, no words are needed.

I find that I only speak one word during the Puppy Bowl, and it's not even English. I tend to zone out and smile as long as the puppies are on TV, but once halftime comes, I invariably scream "Gatos!" at the top of my lungs. It just seems like the right thing to do.

That's how I justify the Puppy Bowl as a whole. It just feels so darn right to watch it.

I feel this way, you feel this way, everyone feels this way.

The hard part, it seems, is admitting it.