by POPSUGAR Pets
The Puppy Bowl is this Sunday, and Ref. Andrew is back as the game's referee! We were lucky enough to talk to him last year, so to get pumped up for the game, check out part two of our interview with Ref. Andrew. We already learned a bit of background on the pups and the referee in Part I, now let's hear more about the action, including last year's "streaker" (!) on the field, in the interview below.
PetSugar: What do you say to yourself when you get up that morning?
Ref. Andrew: I look myself in the mirror for a long time, in the eye, and I say: 'This is your calling, this is what you're meant to do.' It's what I'm born into, my destiny.
PS: Do you have any secret weapons on hand in case things get a little hairy?
RA: Just experience and I consult the Puppy Bowl referee guidebook. I like to keep a little peanut butter behind the ears sometimes, but otherwise it's just my strong bond with the dogs and they know who's boss when I'm out there.
PS: How many pups play at a time?
RA: There are 10 to 12 dogs out there but we do have substitutions. You'll see that on the field, if a puppy's acting up and has too many penalties or is being a dirty dog, I have to eject him from the game. We give everyone a fair shot and I tell you, the puppies we have this year are some of the cutest but also you'll see there's so much action, touchdowns being scored, tackles, it's an exciting year for Puppy Bowl.
PS: Which penalty do you see most and how do you keep order?
RA: There's two: The first is unnecessary ruffness (r-u-f-f, of course) and then the other one is a personal foul. As you can imagine, there are a lot of foul things on that field with puppies. But I throw my yellow flag on it — it's a dirty job but someone's got to do it.
Learn about the special guest performer before Puppy Bowl, kitty halftime, and last year's "streaker" (!) when you read more
