TVSquad

If you're like me (you have my deepest sympathy), you don't have a dog in this Sunday's hunt.

Thanks to the Arizona Cardinals' first appearance this weekend, my hometown team, the New Orleans Saints, will now be one of only five left in the NFL that have never made a Super Bowl appearance. Three if you don't count the expansion clubs.

So if you're a Cardinals fan and don't have the stomach to endure their slow, agonizing and inevitable defeat at the hands of the Pittsburgh Steelers, here are some alternative shows you can watch instead of the Super Bowl.

Animal Planet has once again slated the Puppy Bowl (this one is number 5) to take place on February 1st, the same day as the Super Bowl. The National Anthem will be sung by a parrot and there will be a half-time show involving kitties. Sometimes you just can't make this stuff up.

I was informed that there was some excitement last year when one of the puppies knocked down a dalmatian who was carrying the ball and was penalized as a result and taken out of the game. I don't know exactly how that works, but it sounds exciting.

It's a cute gimmick that the Animal Planet has developed. You can't get much cheaper and cuter than filming puppies playing in a faux football stadium and people that watch puppies are definitely a different niche than those that watch football.

Still, there is some room for improvement. Why not throw a few bunnies and hamsters in there to liven things up? How would you improve the Puppy Bowl?

Growing up as a child of the television generation, I was always mesmerized by any shows having to do with nature or animals. I'd glue myself to the set as Marlin Perkins and Jacques Cousteau took me on fantastic adventures far removed from my own life of domesticated animals.

But I always loved the domestic animals as well. Dogs and cats have always been a part of my life and I'm enriched by their presence in our world. What I didn't have when I was growing up was an Animal Planet exploring the world of animals from pets to deadly predators. From sentimental to educational to outright odd and scary, Animal Planet explores both the worlds of the wilds and the inner cities -- as long as there are animals involved. And, it's not just for kids.