Let me start by saying that I'm an enormous fan of puppy football, that great American pastime. But this most recent incarnation of the Puppy Bowl was a true sham, a disgrace to the sport—in just six years, the Puppy Bowl has gone from an innocent celebration of an historic game, to a commercialized mockery of epic proportions.

When the Puppy Bowl was first started, in the heady days of 2004, the idea was to crown a true Puppy Champion. Now? All you hear about are Bandit's DUI, and Chocolate's contract renegotiations. What happened to the love of the game, puppies?

If the behavior of the athletes wasn't bad enough, the sport itself has become so capitalist you can barely see the actual competition beneath the veneer of advertising dollars and sponsored segments. There's an ad or logo on every available inch of wall-space in the stadium, sponsored highlights, sponsored replays, sponsored halftime specials, sponsored blimps. They've opened the doors to so many different animals that it's barely the puppy-centric endeavor we all came to know and love. Kitties and rabbits as cheerleaders? Gerbils flying the blimp? Fat Justin Long as the referee?

Fat Justin Long's officiating this year was so clearly biased it made the 2002 Lakers/Kings game look honest in contrast. And the enormous, greased logo on the center of the field—instituted to cause more "cute slipping" is nothing more than a giant injury hazard, worse than the Vet in Philly.

In short—I can keep watching, for the love of it. For the love of games of old, the athletes of old, with their trimmed hair and great work ethic, for the love of the spirit of the sport. But it will grow harder each year as more animals crowd the frame, as advertisements clutter the field of play, as Fat JL continues to throw dubious flags. It will grow harder as the sport I love grows more and more loveless.

JK y'all! Here's to the next six months of football-less life going smoothly and quickly, so we have something worthwhile to do with Sundays again.

Labels: Football, Generalness, puppy bowl