Puppy Bowl X

Today is the high holy day of football, Super Bowl XLVIII.

The high priests of football have cynically cleverly scheduled the game to begin at 6:30 , prime time for the largest number of television viewers, bad time for the poor sods who paid $3,000 for a ticket to freeze their butts off watching a night game in February!

The archbishops of advertising have cynically cleverly convinced a credulous audience that even if you don't like football, you will LOVE the commercials on which the advertisers have spent billions creating and airing.

I have opted to watch the Puppy Bowl X. The first year the folks at the Animal Planet decided that since everybody would be tuned into football, they would just show non-stop puppies playing all day. Much to their surprise, a lot of people watched it.

Using the overblown, stentorian,NFL Monday Night Football music and a "field" strewn with dog toys, goal posts and an inset water bowl with a glass bottom, there is voice over play by play, Twitter comments by a parrot, cheerleading provided by a team of penguins, a blimp manned by hamsters, a "barking lot" for dogs who couldn't get tickets to tail gate, a "skybox" of kittens and pauses in the action for "Pup close and personal" clips.

Apologies to European readers, and some Americans too,, no doubt, who have no idea what I am talking about

I will cosily install myself in the bedroom, where I can watch the rain (Yes--real rain!) through the glass doors, watch puppies, and finish a sweater I have been knitting for months! Oh wait, I have to go and take the sheets out of the washing machine....I wonder if the TV in the bedroom works?

I'm sure news of the halftime show with Bruno Mars, controversial plays, players who trash talk on and off the field, surprise plays and bad calls and, yes, even super commercials will trickle back to my end of the house, but I'll be happy with the puppies and the rain....